


Thirty One Flavours

by mcgonamum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Post-Battle of Hogwarts, F/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Video Game: Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-11
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 27,952
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27495283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgonamum/pseuds/mcgonamum
Summary: When the Weasley family comes into Georgiana Forestcue’s ice cream parlour on the grand reopening, loud and obnoxious, she can’t help but not fancy the calm and collected man in the bunch.Charlie Weasley.A boy who wears red jumpers in July and orders plain vanilla ice cream in a bowl. Who wouldn’t fall head over heels for this boy?Post war
Relationships: Ben Copper/Rowan Khanna, Charlie Weasley/Original Female Character(s), Felix Rosier/Original Female Character(s), Penny Haywood/Barnaby Lee
Kudos: 5





	1. 1

Georgiana Fortescue wiped down the display cases of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, waiting for the heat of July to bring in her first customers after reopening. The wind chimes attached to the door rang, signalling that the heat had done it's job. Putting the cloth away, Georgiana went behind the counter to serve her first ever customers, turning down the volume of her muggle radio with her wand as she did.

"Hi, welcome to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, how can I help you?" She read her script from the inside of her palm. She looked over to see a red haired family crowded around the freezer, their sweaty palms smearing all over the freshly cleaned display case as they pointed at the different flavours of ice cream. Georgiana sighed and grabbed her notepad. She had a feeling that this was going to be a long order.

"What can I get for you?" She asked the woman nearest to her, biting the inside of her cheek to try and remind herself to smile.

"Hi, dear, sorry, we're just so excited for the grand reopening of Florean Fortescue's! So terrible what happened to Florean, of course, but we're glad that his parlour is up and running again, it's what he would've wanted," she said. She must've been the mother of the group, as she looked much older than the rest of her company, who all looked as though they had just finished school.

"It's okay, take all the time you need," Georgiana reassured. She had all the time in the world. 

"Oh, aren't you just a peach! What's your name, dear?"

"I'm Georgiana Fortescue, a pleasure to meet you ma'am. And you are?"

"Molly Weasley. Here, Georgiana, you must meet my son Charlie. He's as handsome as the devil, and single too. Charlie! Get over here!" She winked at Georgiana before calling towards the crowd of redhead children.

Georgiana watched as a man emerged from the centre of the group, he seemed to have just heard a joke, as he was laughing hysterically, his face red. The two made eye contact, and he immediately stopped laughing, his eyes went soft and his mouth formed a small smile. Georgiana's heart skipped a beat.

"Charlie, meet Georgiana, she's Florean's daughter, and the new owner of the Parlour!" Molly said to her son, Charlie.

"Hi," he whispered.

"Charlie, speak up, don't make the girl work even harder to try and hear what you're saying!" Molly hit her son's arm lightly.

"Hi!" Charlie shouted playfully, a grin on his face as he saw the look of his mother's annoyance.

Georgiana laughed. "Hello," she replied at a moderate volume. "What can I get for you?"

"Hmm..." Charlie muttered. "I think I'll just have a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a bowl, please."

Georgiana peered at the palm of her hand again, the black ink was smudged from how nervous she was. "W-would you like any toppings on that?" She asked, unsure if it was what she was supposed to say.

"No thank you," he replied, calmly and swiftly.

Georgiana reached into the freezer and scooped two perfect spheres of ice cream into a small bowl. Holding it out, she asked "is that all?" Charlie shook his head and silently pointed at the rest of his frenzied family. They were nearly on top of the glass at this point. Georgiana chuckled and moved towards them. "What can I get you all?" She asked.

All of Charlie's (what she assumed to be) siblings spoke at once, pointing and screaming out different flavours of ice cream.

"I want a blueberry—" "—chocolate flavoured with mint—" "banana and peanut—" "cookies and cocoa—" "waffle cone with sprinkles—" "bowl dipped in chocolate and drizzled—" "nuts and cherries—"

"Alright, Alright, children! Everyone, get in order by year of birth. Ginny you're first, Bill's last!" Barked Molly.

"Hey, no fair, why did Charlie already get his?" Whined a tall boy who looked to be one of the youngest of the group, though Georgiana couldn't tell. They all looked the same to her, besides Charlie.

"Because he already knew what he wanted before we came in, just as I advised you all to do!" Said Molly, a pinch of annoyance still wavered in her voice. 

"No, it's because the girl fancies him!" Whined another one of Charlie's brothers. Georgiana ducked down and grabbed some more ice cream scoopers from under the counter, hiding her blushing face. She couldn't help the smile that shone on her face as she stood back up to see Charlie's face starting to flush as well.

"Shut up, Bill," said Charlie with a small chuckle in his voice. Georgiana's face turned back to normal as she realized that this was all a joke to him and his brothers, probably to embarrass her. She grabbed a scooper and stared at the girl in front of her.

"What can I get you?" She Asked abruptly, surprising her with the quick change of tone in her voice.

"Er— can I get two scoops of peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough and a scoop of strawberry jam?" Asked the girl.

"Sure thing," said Georgiana as she scooped the ice cream into the bowl. After handing the bowl to the girl, she listened to the boy next in line.

"I'll get four scoops of chocolate s'mores with chocolate drizzle and brown sprinkles in a large waffle cone dipped halfway in caramel." 

"Ronald Weasley! You'd better be spending your own money on that, because I will not but you an ice cream cone that complicated!" Exclaimed Molly.

The boy—Ronald—grumbled before pulling out a handful of sickles. Georgiana handed him his complex cone, and with an utter look of disgust and anger on his face, the boy started to eat. After watching the boy getting pushed out of the way by another red haired man in tattered robes, Georgiana's mood improved slightly. "And for you?" She asked a lupine man with marks on his face.

"I'll have a scoop of blueberry cheesecake and a scoop of raspberry cheesecake, please," he said.

"In what?" Georgiana asked quickly.

"What do you mean?" 

"My god, Bill. A bowl or a cone?" Sighed Ronald.

"Oh! A bowl please," Bill said after getting a glare from Ronald.

Georgiana gave him his ice cream and tallied up all the prices in her muggle cash register.

"Can I get you anything else?" She Asked before telling them the total.

"No, that's alright dear," said Molly.

"Okay, so your total is four galleons, twelve sickles, and four Knuts," she said.

Molly and Ronald handed her the total, and the family started to pile out of the store. Before leaving, Charlie turned to face Georgiana.

"It was a pleasure meeting you," he said.

Georgiana smiled big. "The pleasure was all mine," she replied.

Charlie winked at her and flipped a galleon into the tip jar at the front of the counter. As soon as he left, Georgiana took the galleon in her sticky hands and peered at it with a goofy grin.

At the end of the most tiring day of her life day, her hands sticky and her shirt permanently dyed wacky colours, Georgiana locked the front doors of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

After flipping the Open sign to read Closed from the outside, Georgiana reached into her pocket and found the long forgotten galleon she had received from Charlie earlier in the day. Keeping it in her hand, Georgiana turned off the lights to the shop and climbed up the stairs to her home. She unlocked the front door and walked into her bedroom, not turning on the lights as she did. Without bothering to change out of her sticky work uniform or taking out her now messy ponytail, Georgiana fell into her bed and drifted off into a quick sleep, holding the galleon close to her heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Georgiana stepped out of Florean Fortescue's back doors, locking them from the inside knob before taking off down Diagon Alley. Noticing a large, noisy crowd at the end of her block, she decided to go check out what the big fluster was all about. Making her way down to bright big orange shop, Georgiana took in the view of children sprinting around the store while their parents hustled and bustled through the crowd to keep up.

Upon entering the store, the colour scheme got even brighter. Between an eye popping neon orange colour, the purple trim, and the wacky coloured toys and pranking tools, Georgiana was worried that all the colours would hurt her eyes by the time she left. Even though she was concerned for her eyesight, Georgiana continued to browse around the store, trying to find something to buy for Penny, one of her best friend, for her birthday.

She turned the corner towards the potions section and bumped into another wizard, knocking boxes out of his hands. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed as she bent down to help pick up the boxes of Puking Pastils and Extendable Ears that were now scattered between them. After filling her arm's full with boxes, she looked up to see who the victim of her clumsiness was. She stared into the soft blue eyes of Charlie Weasley, and as things quickly became awkward between the two, Charlie cleared his throat and began to say something to Georgiana before she cut him off. "Well anyways, sorry, completely my fault! Bye!" Georgiana rushed away from the red haired boy and towards a shelf covered in love potions.

After looking at the shelf for approximately two seconds, she was interrupted by yet another red haired man. "You're not planning on using one of those on my little brother now, are you?" He asked.

"What?" Georgiana asked.

"Charlie. You're not going to try and get Charlie to fall in love with you, right?"

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Georgiana scoffed.

The man chuckled. "Bill Weasley, you served me ice cream the other day with Charlie, and some of my nitwit brothers, and sister"he replied.

"Right, you were the one who didn't know what a bowl was," she grinned.

"Well, not everyone can be as clever as Charlie, you know," he chuckled and held out his hand. Georgiana shook it. "I was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Fortescue."

"The pleasure was all mine,” Georgiana replied, rolling her eyes 

Bill left Georgiana in the aisle of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and while she wasn't being distracted by a conversation, Georgiana realized just how crowded it was around her. The muggy air filled her lungs as she took deep breaths and pushed her way through the crowds to get outside. Upon reaching the fresh air, she sat down, her back pressed against the wall of the lively shop. Closing her eyes, Georgiana took a few deep breaths before being interrupted by the sound of a clearing of a throat. She opened her eyes to see Charlie again.

"What do you want?" She sighed while wiping the sweat off of her forehead.

"I just came to see if you're alright? And to ask if you'd like to go for a walk with me, we could catch up" he replied.

She sighed again. "How about we walk to my shop. It's closed, and cold in there," she suggested.

"Only if I get a free scoop," he chuckled and held out his hand to help her up.

Georgiana smiled, "Sure thing, it's vanilla in a bowl right?"

Charlie put his other hand over his chest. "You know me so well."

The two walked to the opposite end of the block towards Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, and upon reaching it, Georgiana pulled her hand out from Charlie's to grab the keys from her pocket. A wave of goosebumps washed over her when she realized that she had held Charlie's hand for the whole walk over, her cheeks reddening. After unlocking the door, she stepped in and held it open for Charlie, who tipped an imaginary hat her way. Georgiana smiled nervously as she closed the door and made her way towards the counter.

"So, Georgiana, why work here, of all places? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love ice cream, but you have to deal with cranky customers all day!" Charlie asked as she scooped his vanilla ice cream into a bowl, along with a scoop of triple chocolate fudge for herself.

"Well, it's like your mother said the other day, isn't it? It's what my father would've wanted. It's especially nice being your own boss. And it's not like I hate it, it's just not my preferred employment. Besides, the customers are the least of my issues, my worst trouble is trying to get the dye out of my clothes at the end of the day. You have no idea how many white t-shirts have turned pink and blue because of that rotten cotton candy ice cream," she sighed.

"Okay, well, if you didn't work here, what job would you want to have?" He asked.

Georgiana thought for a moment. "I'd want to be a quidditch player, I think. When I was in my sixth year, I was captain of my quidditch team, and a scout came from the Holyhead Harpies, asking if I would play for them when I got out of school, but I had to turn them down because my father wanted me to help him run the shop." 

"I remember you playing at Hogwarts. You were a tough team to beat. Hufflepuff was our best competition," he said. "I remember watching you play against Slytherin one time, you scored every single goal, and kept doing so even after they hit your leg with a bludger." 

Georgiana winced at the memory. "I never was as good as you, best seeker in a century! Everyone said so," she patted his shoulder from across the table.

"Only for about six years, though. As soon as I left, Harry Potter took my place as 'best seeker in a century,'" he replied.

"Well I didn't hear anyone talking about Harry being able to play professionally. Why didn't you play quidditch after school?" She asked.

"I didn't want to— actually, that's a lie. I wanted to play quidditch, but I just love dragons more. I'm a dragonologist now, and I love my job. I spend everyday with my best friends, Norwegian Ridgebacks and Hungarian Horntails."

Georgiana laughed. "Do you still play?" She asked.

"Play? Quidditch? Sometimes. Before the war, whenever I was in town me and my brothers would play a match in the field behind out house, but we never had enough for a whole team, and we barely had enough brooms for all of us to play," he paused. "Do you?" 

"The last time I've gotten on a broom was the final game house cup in our last year of school. Actually, that game was against you, and we won. I wanted to stop playing with a good last memory." 

"That's depressing and stupid," Charlie said bluntly.

"Excuse me?" Georgiana scoffed.

"You 'wanted to stop playing with a good last memory?' It's a load of rubbish! You stopped playing because you were scared that if you got back on your broom that you would remember how much you love quidditch, and you'd stop working here to peruse your passion!"

"I did not! That's not true at all, and if you're going to challenge me about my own feelings in my store, than quite frankly, I don't want you here," She spat.

"Fine, how about this. You, me, and a few others play one match, and if you don't have fun, you can keep working here, and I won't bug you anymore. But if you have a great time, and you remember how much you love quidditch after that match, then you have to try out for the Holyhead Harpies for their new season," Charlie said.

"No." 

"What do you mean no? Why not?" 

"I told you why not! What if I hate it? Then my last memory on a broom would be terrible! What if I don't have fun?" 

"What if you do?! What if you get on that broom for the first Time in seven year and think 'I should've never stopped playing?' Or 'declining that offer was the worst mistake of my life?' Because face it, Gia, one day, you're going to wake up and realize that quidditch is the love of your life, and you'll never hate yourself more for rejecting the Harpies than at that moment!" 

Both Charlie and Georgiana were standing now, less than half a meter apart. "What?" Charlie asked as he stared at Georgiana, who looked at him with soft eyes.

"Did you just call me Gia?" She asked. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." 

"Nobody's ever called me that before. I love it." Georgiana stepped towards Charlie and hugged him. "It's a beautiful name." 

"A beautiful name for a beautiful girl," Charlie whispered.

Georgiana broke the hug but continued to clutch on to his arms. "Fine," she said. "I'll play a match, but that's all." 

Charlie grinned. "Excellent."


	3. Chapter 3

Georgiana stepped into the cake store in muggle London. She had given herself the task of finding inspiration for new ice cream flavours before she opened the shop later in the afternoon.

Fortunately for Georgiana, as soon as she stepped inside the shop, she heard droplets of water patter against the cement and the windows of the store, and he felt a drop hit her ankle as she pulled it through the doorframe. She sighed as she stared back outside, where it had started to torrentially downpour. She turned around and made her way deeper into the store, looking for flavour inspiration and new toppings.

"Georgiana? Is that you?" Asked Mrs. Bakersfield, the owner of Bakersfield's Cakes Etc.

"Mrs. Bakersfield! How are you?" Georgiana smiled at the elderly woman across the counter.

"Georgiana, dear, I've told you before, call me Nathalie!"

"Sorry, Nathalie. Old habits die hard."

"How's your father doing, dear? I haven't seen him in a while. Has he fallen ill?"

Georgiana swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. "He's fine. He has some errands of his own to run, that's all. The shops getting busier and busier now that summer's here."

"Well I'm glad to know he's alright. Tell him to come by soon, Alright?"

"Sure thing Mrs. Bakersfield— I mean Nathalie," Georgiana corrected herself when she received an unimpressed look from the older woman. "I have to go, it's almost time to open the shop," Georgiana lied. Talking about her father made her remember how terribly painful working without him was. She rushed out of the store into the pouring rain, becoming drenching wet instantly. Georgiana ran down the flooding street, only to bump into another soaked person who was also trying to escape the rain.

"Gia! What're you doing here?" Charlie shouted over the rain.

"That doesn't matter! Can we please get out of the rain? I'm soaked!" Georgiana exclaimed.

Charlie held out his arm. "Hold on!" He shouted. Georgiana gripped onto his arm, and with a crack that she could barely make out over the sound of the rain, the two apparated away.

The place they ended up at was a comfortable little flat near the Leaky Cauldron. It had white walls and was neat and tidy, as though it was rarely used. Georgiana stepped inside behind Charlie and he held out his arms. "I thought you might like a place to dry off," He said. "I have some spare clothes in the guest room, they might fit you." He motioned towards the door on the far right of the room. Georgiana went towards it and stepped inside. Just like the rest of the house, the walls were white and everything was tidy inside the room. The only thing that differentiated this room from the others was the posters of the Holyhead Harpies taped to the walls. She laughed quietly with a small frown as she remembered her deal with Charlie. She didn't know how to feel about their bet.

Georgiana stopped looking at the posters after a few minutes and went to the closet. There were only two outfits in there, a long, sparkly red dress with matching red stilettos, and a pair of faded jeans with a white baggy t-shirt and maroon cardigan. Choosing the second option, she placed it on the bed and started to undress herself. She gripped her shirt and pulled it over her head in an attempt to get it unstuck off of her stomach. She finally peeled it off of her when she heard the door open.

"Is everything alright in here?" Charlie Asked as he entered the room. Upon seeing Georgiana shirtless, his face began to redden with embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh, Charlie! What are you doing?! Don't look at me! Get out!" Georgiana shouted.

Charlie stumbled back. "Oh- I'm so sorry!" He shielded his eyes with his hands. "I didn't mean to—" he ran toward the door, his eyes still covered, but instead of running through the frame, he ran straight into it, falling over backwards.

"Charlie! Are you alright?!" Georgiana asked after she put the dry shirt on.

Charlie groaned and squeezed his eyes closed even tighter, "I'm fine, just put your clothes on, I'm going to lay here for a while."

Georgiana halted for a moment before getting inside the closet to change into the jeans and cardigan. It was difficult, as her legs were still wet and her wet pants refused to come off, but she finally managed after about ten minutes. She emerged from the closet to see that the bedroom was empty. She left the bedroom and found Charlie sitting at the small, round kitchen table with a cup of tea on each side. Georgiana sat across from him and took a sip, and instantly felt warm from the heat of the mint flavoured tea. The two remained silent for a few minutes until Georgiana couldn't take it anymore.

"I saw the Harpies poster. Was that your way of letting me know that I'm going to lose the bet?" She asked.

"What? Oh— no. My sister stayed here for a week or so at the end of June— she insisted that she couldn't stand our mother anymore. The Harpies are her favourite team, she plans on trying out this year as well," Charlie explained. "She must've forgot it here with those clothes that were in the closet."

"Oh."

"What? Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" Charlie when he noticed Georgiana start to smile really big.

"Nothing," Georgiana insisted.

"No, tell me!" Charlie whined.

"Fine, it's just that I was a bit upset because I thought that these girls belonged to your girlfriend or your ex girlfriend or something. I feel much better knowing that they're your sisters'."

"And why is that?" Charlie smirked.

"No reason— no reason at all."

"Okay, well, just so you know, you are one hundred percent losing our bet," Charlie grinned.

"Why would you think that?" Georgiana questioned.

"Because I have an excellent team stacked up. My chasers are Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, and Alicia Spinnet— I was their captain before I left Hogwarts— I put them on the Gryffindor team, so I know how good they are. My keeper is Oliver Wood— the new reserve keeper for Puddlemere United, the one who took over the team after I left, and my beaters— my brother Ron, and Harry Potter," he gloated.

"And What makes you think that your team is better than mine? Besides— you're just favouriting the gryffindors, I'm on good terms with plenty of students from each house that would be more than willing to kick your arse in quidditch," said Georgiana with a straight face. She was bluffing, both her and Charlie knew it. The truth was, Georgiana hadn't thought about their bet since they had made it a week before. Her shop was insanely busy during the heat wave before the storm, and she hadn't even left the shop in the whole week, much less thought about a scrimmage quidditch match.

"Alright, so who's on your team, then?" He asked, trying to catch her in her lie.

"You'll see," Georgiana smirked and apparated out of the flat as Charlie started whining yet again.

Georgiana rushed over to her desk to start drafting requests for her friends and acquaintances to help her in the match. She sent seven in total, in case one couldn't make it, or didn't want to play. She made a list on a separate sheet of paper of all the invitees.

_Wilda Griffiths— chaser_   
_Angus Campbell— chaser_   
_Barnaby Lee– beater_   
_Bill Weasley— beater_   
_Tonks— seeker_   
_André Egwu— keeper_   
_Ginny Weasley— substitute_

Georgiana drafted a letter to each invitee, trying to Make it as convincing as possible without explaining the cause too much. She knew all of these people from Hogwarts, and knew that at least three of them played professionally now. She just hoped that they would remember her well enough to accept the offer.

Twenty minutes after she sent out the letters at the post office, Georgiana had received a letter back. She tore it open and sat on her bed as she began to read.

_Georgiana,_   
_I did not want to reply to this letter, as it makes my heart heavy just writing it. Earlier today you sent a letter addressed to my daughter, Nymphadora, regarding a quidditch match. I know she would've loved playing with you, even if she was clumsy as ever, but you must remember that Nymphadora—_

Georgiana stopped reading the letter. She knew exactly who it was from. Andromeda Tonks, her former best friend's mother. She had forgotten. She had forgotten that Tonks, her best friend, was dead. All of her busy days at work had consumed her pain and guilt over the terrible deaths in the war— specifically her best friend.

Georgiana broke down. In that moment, all of the pain and grief and guilt crashed over her like a wave on a stormy day. She fell to the floor and sobbed and screamed and shouted until her whole body fell numb and her tears ran out. At that point she simply laid on the floor, shaking uncontrollably. She clutched the letter in her hands until it was crumpled and ruined and she had ink stains on her hands and tear stains in her clothes.

She hadn't even heard as Charlie ran up the stairs and into her flat. She didn't notice until he came up to her and pulled her up onto her bed and hugged her tight until she fell asleep in his arms.   
  


Georgiana woke up to the sound of footsteps in her kitchen. Forgetful of the events of the afternoon before, Georgiana pulled her wand off of her bedside table and carefully made her way towards the sound of the movement. She saw something move up ahead and nearly shot the full-body binding curse before she realized who it was.

Charlie Weasley stood in front of her stove, wearing her flowery pink apron as he cooked pancakes and whistled a quiet tune. Georgiana quietly stepped behind him and gave him a hug from the back. He turned around to face her and hugged her back, resting his chin on her head.

"Thank you," She whispered. "For yesterday. I would've stayed like that for days if you hadn't come."

"I want you to be okay," he replied. "You can be sad, or happy, or angry, or whatever, just as long as you're okay."

"I'm okay now. Thank you." The two hugged for a few minutes longer until the fire alarm started going off and water sprayed on them.

"The pancakes!" Shouted Charlie. "Oh no!"

"The pancakes?! My furniture is getting soaked! Help me turn this thing off!" Georgiana yelled. She jumped on the couch to try and reach the fire alarm that was plastered on the ceiling above it. Charlie jumped onto the couch and reached the fire alarm on his first try, pulling it out of the ceiling and giving it to Georgiana. She quickly pressed the Hush button and handed it back to Charlie, who put it back into the hole in the ceiling.

"Thanks," Georgiana said. She was only a half of a foot away from Charlie, who was also soaking wet from the fire sprinklers. Georgiana stared at Charlie's face. His eyes were bright and a whisper of a smile fell on his lips. His freckles were perfectly painted across his cheeks and his chin and his forehead. He was perfect.

The two didn't realize that they were both leaning in until their lips met.


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh my goodness! Georgiana! Charlie?!" Shouted Penny Haywood as she busted through the door of Georgiana's flat.

Charlie and Georgiana scrambled away from each other as quickly as possible, both their faces burning red from being caught.

"Penny! I thought I told you to knock before you enter?!" Georgiana gritted through her teeth. Of all of the times that Penny could've possibly decided to barge in, it had to be the moment where she kissed the boy she fancied.

"Nope, you've never actually said anything because you're always alone," Penny beamed.

"Penny, what do you want?" Georgiana sighed.

"I just came to let you know that even though you didn't send me an invite yet, I'm coming to watch your quidditch game."

"Oh— um, Penny—" Georgiana tried to decline but Charlie intercepted her rejection.

"Great! So you'll be coming to watch Georgiana lose, then? Because if she does, she has to try out for the Harpies!" He cheered.

Georgiana hit his shoulder. "I didn't tell anyone about the bet!" She whispered.

"Oh my gosh! Georgiana, you've always loved quidditch, you always use to tell us that you wanted to be a professional player one day. This is great! So you're trying out?" Penny exclaimed.

"Only if I have fun! That's the only way I'll try out."

"Which you obviously will! Anyways, I also got your letter about the shortage of potions for your ice cream, do you want me to make some for you? I have a bunch of ingredients in my lab, I'd do it for free," Penny said with a suggestive eyebrow wiggle.

"Thank you so much, Penny!" Georgiana jumped off the couch and hugged her friend. "You're amazing!"

"You're welcome! I have to go, Rowan and Grace are waiting for me. They're going to LOVE this!" She said as she wagged her fingers from Charlie to Georgiana.

Georgiana grew even more red before saying "Thanks a ton! You're a lifesaver!"

The blonde friend shrugged and flashed Georgiana and Charlie a smile before skipping out the door, muttering something along the lines of "about time."

Georgiana cleared her throat and turned towards Charlie, her face becoming red again. "Well, I have to go set up the shop," she said. "You can join me if you'd like. Unless you have to help at your brothers shop."

"Oh! Er— I think Ron and Bill are running the shop today, so I'll stay here with you I guess," he replied.

"O-okay."

"I'm going to change into my uniform. Don't come in this time," Georgiana said with a frown.

Charlie laughed and put his hand over his face. "I promise I won't," he replied with a smirk and a flushed face. She couldn't tell if he was embarrassed or flirting, but she felt as though it were a bit of both. Softly laughing in return, Georgiana made her way over to her bedroom and put on her mauve uniform shirt and a pair of black cut off jeans. She put on her favourite pair of muggle shoes that she got for her sixteenth birthday and walked back into the living room, where Charlie sat on the couch.

"You look beautiful," he said.

Georgiana smiled. "I wear the same clothes every day," she replied. "Nothing chic, nothing cute, just plain old me."

"And that's why it's beautiful. Because it's you," Charlie cooed.

"Okay, mister cheese, get your butt downstairs," Georgiana rolled her eyes, pulled him off the couch and pushed him out the door playfully.

"Yes ma'am," Charlie saluted Georgiana before running down to the dark shop, lit only by the lines of sunlight creeping in through the spaces in the closed blinds. After setting up the shop for about a half hour, with a flick of her wand, Georgiana made the store magically clean itself before she unlocked the door and turned on the open sign. Immediately, children ran in the store.

"Georgie! Georgie!" The kids shouted as they rushed around her and hugged her legs.

"Amelia, William! How are you two doing today? How's your mum and dad?" Georgiana asked the elevenish year olds.

"Mums good, she said she misses you. She's out buying our robes for school with Auntie Penny and Auntie Rowan. Dad should be coming soon too. Can we have some ice cream samples?" Asked the girl of the two.

"Sure, What kinds do you want?" Georgiana Asked as she went behind the counter and took out two sample sized bowls that she had bought specifically for her close friends' children.

"I want a chocolate fudge marshmallow with sprinkles!" Shouted the little boy.

"And I want a butterbeer chocolate swirl with walnuts on top!" Exclaimed the little girl.

"Coming right up!" Georgiana said enthusiastically before scooping their small ice cream scoops into the purple paper bowls. The children giggled and thanked Georgiana before running out of the store to finish their ice cream on the outside patio.

"Who's kids were those?" Asked Charlie as they watched the children eat.

"My good friend Grace Caleigh-Rosier. You remember her? She played as a chaser on the Hufflepuff quidditch team with me. Got together with Felix Rosier in our last year. He's a dragonologist now too, just like you."

"Oh! I remember her, actually, my little brother fancied her, before he got so uptight," Charlie grinned. They watched as Amelia and and William got up from their seats outside and ran towards Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions to meet their mother and her friends.

"Percy? Really? Didn't he start dating Penelope Clearwater after we left?" Asked Georgiana.

"Yes, but they broke up after the war, she told him that he was a git for talking to his family again," Charlie spat.

"That's bloody messed up," said Georgiana.

"Yeah. I reckon she should've been put in Slytherin instead of Ravenclaw," glowered Charlie.

"Hey, I know a few good Slytherins!" Defended Georgiana as the bell on the door rang.

"For example, me! Hello darling," said Felix Rosier as he entered the dainty shop, blowing a kiss at Georgiana.

Georgiana smiled. "Hello Felix, it's good to see you again. The kids came in an hour or so ago asking for a sample. I just can't say no to them!" Exclaimed Georgiana as she went over to hug him.

"Thank you. They really are adorable! They must have good genes," gloated Felix. He cleared his throat before he changed the topic of conversation. "I just wanted to ask if I could watch that quidditch game," responded Felix. "I heard about it from Penny and I can sub in for anyone if they get hurt. I'm an excellent keeper, some even say I'm the best of our generation," he boasted with a chuckle.

Georgiana laughed. "You can come and watch if you want, Felix, but bring Grace and the kids. I don't want you to get into a brawl with anyone. We both know that you get physical when you're being competitive," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," Felix saluted her.

Georgiana sighed. "All boys are the same," she muttered before kicking Felix out and locking up the door and switching over the sign to 'closed' for lunchtime.

"What would you like to do for lunch today, Mister Weasley?" Asked Georgiana with a posh accent.

"How about we go down to the Leaky Cauldron? They've got this new tomato soup that I've been dying to try," Charlie requested.

"Sure, tomato soup sounds great, my favourite, after chicken noodle," Georgiana replied.

Charlie held his hand out to Georgiana and the couple made their way out of the shop and down Diagon Alley towards the Leaky Cauldron. Upon entering the store, they were greeted by a little-too-cheery waitress.

"Good afternoon! Welcome to the Leaky Cauldron! Please seat yourself and I'll fetch you some beverages. What would you like?" The woman smiled at Charlie and stroked his arm as she spoke. Georgiana glared at the waitress but she didn't seem to catch on, and kept flirtatiously smirking at Charlie, who looked rather uncomfortable.

"I'll have a butterbeer," he coughed and pulled his arm away from the waitresses touch.

"Same here," grunted Georgiana as she linked her arm in Charlie's and dragged him over to a booth in the corner, where she burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Asked Charlie.

"That woman was clearly flirting with you, Char. You looked so uncomfortable, honestly, when I looked over at you, I could've sworn you looked constipated!" She cried out in her fit, gasping for breath.

Charlie put his hand over his face and chuckled through his embarrassment. "Oh no, was she really?" He whined. "I didn't want her to, I'm here with you!"

"Oh Charlie, don't you worry about a thing! Besides, I found it quite hilarious," Georgiana replied as she rubbed his arm reassuringly.

"Really? That just makes it even worse! What if she comes back and tries it again?" He asked worriedly.

"Then I have a plan to make her not even think about flirting with you again," Georgiana grinned.

"Oh no, I know that face. That's the face you had every time you came up with a good idea for a play. I saw it too many times in the quidditch house cup final to ever forget it. It still haunts my nightmares." Charlie looked as though he were about to get up and start pacing back and forth across the pub.

"Don't worry, the look comes naturally when I have a great idea," Georgiana continued to grin wildly. She didn't have what was commonly known as a 'Poker Face.' Seconds after Georgiana said that, she noticed that the waitress from earlier was watching Charlie from the bar. Without thinking, Georgiana grabbed him by the collar, basically dragging him across the table, and snogged him smack on the lips, her lips forming a sly grin into his as she watched the waitress frown and turn away.


	5. Chapter 5

With the summer coming to an end, Georgiana became less focused on the shop and contributed more of her time planning to win her quidditch match against Charlie. After a month of continuously writing letters to people back and forth almost every day, Georgiana had finally developed the perfect team.

_Wilda Griffiths— chaser_   
_Ginny Weasley— chaser_   
_Anthony Rickett– beater_   
_Bill Weasley— beater_   
_André Egwu— seeker_   
_Vicky Frobisher — keeper_

She knew almost everybody on her team personally, and made sure she had at least two Weasleys to psych out Charlie. After sending them the request to play on her team, Georgiana reminded Bill and Ginny not to tell the other Weasleys that they were playing on her team, to create a bigger element of surprise.

As for Wilda Griffiths, she hadn't told her the price to pay if they had lost the bet. Georgiana asked Wilda to play with them to show her Ginny's skills as a chaser, though she had only heard about Ginny's talent for quidditch from Charlie, and not from actual experience playing with the Weasley girl.

Georgiana closed the shop early on that afternoon in August to meet with her team to practice for the first time. She was nervous, she hadn't gotten on a broom in nearly seven years, and she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of people that she barely knew. As she was walking Georgiana realized that she should've left earlier to practice by herself for a while to regain her confidence on her broom. It was too late now, she took out her wand and apparated to the the Holyhead Harpies' stadium, which Wilda Griffiths has so generously offered for them to use for practice. She saw Wilda the second she looked up, and embraced the older woman in a hug.

"Georgiana! How lovely to see you again!" Cried the quidditch captain.

"And you too, Wilda! Is everyone here?" Georgiana asked.

"Oh no, just that dear Ginny Weasley girl and her brother. I'm sure the rest will show up soon."

"Bill?"

"Oh no, he said his name was Charles... or Charlie? One of those," Wilda replied.

"Charlie?!" Georgiana exclaimed. "He can't be here! He's the head of the other team that were playing!" Georgiana ran toward the locker room to see Ginny and another boy facing the opposite was of her.

"She won't think it's funny," Ginny hissed. "She's so clearly in love with him, she might snog you because she thinks you're him," she continued before they heard the door slam as Georgiana marched in the locker room. The two Weasleys turned around.

"Seriously, Bill?! I thought you were Charlie! I don't want him to know that you're both on my team until the actual match, do you hear me?" Georgiana shouted. "Now get your brooms and lets go!"

Georgiana stormed out of the change room and onto the pitch, where Anthony Rickett and André Egwu stood, baffled at the sight of the large practice field. Georgiana huffed and stood in front of them. "Hell0?! Let's get a move on! Grab your brooms!" She shouted to the surprise of the newcomers. Georgiana sighed. "Where the bloody hell is Vicky?"

On perfect timing, Vicky Frobisher walker onto the pitch with her broom in one hand and a box of scones in the other. "Hello, Georgie, so sorry I'm late," she said. "I wanted to grab a quick snack for the team."

"Let's go, lets go! We need all the practice we can get," Georgiana shouted at Vicky and the rest of the team. They all stood still, mouth agape and large eyes at Georgiana. They had never seen her so intense before.

"What are you standing there for?! Get on your brooms and let's play!"

The players dropped what they were holding, grabbed their brooms, mounted them, and kicked off into the air.

"Good! Now, I want all of you to divide into your specific groups to get comfortable in your positions with your teammates. I have your positions listed, so listen up as I tell you!" Georgiana shouted so everyone could hear her.

"Chasers! You are Ginny and Wilda, along with me! Beaters, you're Bill and Tony, seeker is André, and keeper is Vick! Everyone know their positions?"

The team members all nodded their heads and moved to be next to their group members, Wilda and Ginny going next to Georgiana.

"I want all of you within your groups to do the specific drills that I sent to you over the weekend. Then, when you've all done them fifteen times, we'll scrimmage for an hour, understood?!"

The players all nodded again and moved towards different parts of the field. Georgiana had the beaters on the ground for their first play warmup, where they would take turns hitting golf balls for the seeker to catch, who was high up in the air. The chasers, along with her, were practicing what she called a "three woman weave," where they would pass through the three of them as they flew quickly down the field, and then eventually shooting on the keeper, who would attempt to block the shot.

The practice was hard and in no time, Georgiana started to sweat. She couldn't remember the last time she worked out so hard. She called everyone in to the middle after they finished their drills to talk.

"You all practiced hard today, and I'm glad you did. It shows how dedicated you all are to this sport, and how much you love it. I know you're all sweating your arses off so we'll take a fifteen minute break before we start our scrimmage," she said. The team smiled at her and sighed in relief when she said the word 'break.' As they made their way towards the change rooms, Wilda stopped Georgiana.

"You'd make a good player for the Harpies, Georgie, why haven't you tried out?" She Asked.

Georgiana paused. She didn't want to tell Wilda the real reason why they were playing the match against Charlie's team, so she simply shrugged. Neither of them spoke a word as they retired to the locker room.

As the two entered the room, Ginny approached them. "Hello Georgiana, hello Wilda! Georgiana, I know you really want to beat my brother and all, but I want you to know that I'm really hoping that you have fun while playing. It'd be nice to try out for the Harpies together for this season," she said.

Georgiana's heart stopped when Wilda looked at her with a look of confusion.

"Well, Ginny, I think you've already got an excellent chance of making my team next year. Based on how you play in this game, I can make you a reserve player starting immediately after," said Wilda.

Ginny's face brightened and she smiled goofily. "Really?! That would be amazing! It's my dream to play for the harpies! Would Georgiana be able to play too?"

"We'll have to see how well she plays too, but right now, with how incredibly hard she's working and her compassion and skills, she looks like the next captain material," replied Wilda with a somewhat persuasive voice.

Georgiana tried to hide how happy those words made her feel as Ginny squealed. Georgiana tried to focus on the shop. How could she leave it when it was her dad's legacy? He left it to her, so she had to take it on, there was no way she would leave it. Trying to avoid her strong emotions on the topic of her father and his shop, Georgiana realized that it was time to get back to practice.

"Alright team, lets scrimmage!"


	6. Chapter 6

The autumn morning was humid and cloudy on the day of the anxiously awaited quidditch match, and Georgiana rushed out of her home to go meet with her team one more time before the big event. There was only a few hours left until she would face off with Charlie for the price of her future, and Georgiana stumbled for her keys and quickly slid them into the lock of the shop with shaky hands. After checking the door one last time, Georgiana ran to the Leaky Cauldron to use their floo network, as her own wasn't working at that time.

Georgiana quickly pushed open the front door to the store and stepped in and watched the floor to avoid any people that she knew and get to the floo as quickly as possible, but as she stepped closer to the fireplace, she bumped into the last person she expected to see in the middle of the pub that morning. Falling to the floor from the force of what seemed to be a stampede of elephants, Georgiana looked up to see Rubeus Hagrid, the Cares of Magical Creatures Professor, and her old friend from Hogwarts.

"Georgiana! Great ter see yeh!" Hagrid unintentionally shouted.

"Hagrid! What are you doing here? Don't you have a class to teach?" Asked Georgiana.

"Classes 're cancelled for the day! It's Halloween, and Headmistress McGonagall decided to give the children a break, they've all been workin' their arses off fer the past month and er half."

"Oh that's right, I completely forgot that today was Halloween too, I've been so focused on the match," Georgiana sighed. The stress of winning had caused her to forget that the day of the match was the same day as Halloween.

"And What match would yeh be talkin' 'bout there, Georgiana? You didn't start playin' professionally, did yeh? I heard the Tornadoes are lookin' fer a new chaser," Hagrid stated.

"Oh, no. I have a bet with Charlie Weasley. He wants me to try out for the Harpies this season. I actually need to talk to him about the location of the match, we were supposed to play on the Harpies' field but they made a last minute practice for the reserve team, and were supposed to play in an hour and a half. "

"Well if yeh all don't have a place for the match, I'm sure m'dame hooch would love ter see yeh play on the Hogwarts field! The stud'nts could use a good time, I'll go talk to 'er and headmistress McGonagall now!"

"Oh! That would be amazing! Thank you so much!" Georgiana hugged hagrid tightly and rushed off to the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. "I must go tell Charlie at once!" She exclaimed before grabbing a pinch of floo powder and throwing it at the base of the fireplace. "The burrow!" She was off in a whirl, her arms tucked to her sides so another family wouldn't have the distasteful gift of a splinched arm.

Upon landing in the Burrow's fireplace, Georgiana was greeted with several familiar faces. Not only was she face to face with nearly the entire Weasley family, but was greeted by Angelina Johnson, Katie Bell, Oliver Wood, Alicia Spinnet, and Harry Potter (which wasn't uncommon, as he was dating Ginny Weasley). As soon as Georgiana arrived, the entire crowd started shouting for Charlie.

"Charlie your girlfriend's here!" Shouted Ron, as Harry shouted nearly the same thing, and Charlie's quidditch team simply surrounded her and were saying their hello's and such.

"For the last time, Ron! She's not my girlfriend! We're just friends!" Charlie shouted as he ran down the stairs.

"Yeah, but you'd like to be more, wouldn't you?" Ron grinned as his brother smacked him upside the head and muttered a threat. Charlie turned saw Georgiana surrounded by his team and called them off after seeing how crowded it was, and remembering how she got in crowds. His team walked away from Georgiana and towards the dining room table, which had been magically expanded to fit the whole team.

"Thanks," Georgiana said with a small smile.

"Not a problem," said Charlie in response.

"Anyways, I came here to mention that the match's location has changed. We're now playing at Hogwarts, at the same time as before." Georgiana said.

"Hogwarts? Be prepared to lose! My team has been on that court more recently than you. They know everything about it." Charlie grinned triumphantly.

"Oh silly Charlie. Don't you remember? The quidditch pitch was burnt down last year! They've completely redesigned the pitch. We're at an equal disadvantage, so the match is fair."

Charlie glowered at Georgiana and turned back to his team. "Alright you lot! The match's at Hogwarts now, so we'll meet there at twelve!"

Charlie's team all gleamed at the thought of returning to their old school, their second home, and if Georgiana was being honest with herself, she wasn't as enthusiastic as they were. Her memories of Hogwarts had been tainted by the events of the war, watching her friends and young children fight for their lives against Death Eaters. She shook her head as she arrived at the Harpies' pitch where she was meeting her team.

"Listen guys, I know I've been hard on you for the last few weeks, but I want you all to know that I had a lot of fun practicing and playing with you, and I hope you play your very best later. Win or lose, we are all champions.

The team cheered and clapped as Georgiana gathered them all into a huddle. She pulled the team jerseys she had made out of her bag. They were bright purple with yellow lettering saying " _Charlie Sucks!"_ With a sparkly trim. She had put a number on each jersey, the number 1 was on hers.

"Okay, now that we have our jerseys, I wanted to let you know that we won't be playing on this field today," she said. The team groaned.

"Where are we going to play?" Asked André.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're going back to school."

"We're playing at Hogwarts?" He exclaimed.

"You bet your zippy arse we are! Now, less talking and more practicing!"  
  


Georgiana and her team huddled in one of the quidditch change room of Hogwarts as the students outside cheered and debated over which team they thought would win the match. Georgiana was in the middle of giving her motivational speech when there was a knock on the door from Madame Hooch, signalling that the game was about to start. The team put their arms in and Georgiana called the cheer.

"Charlie sucks on three!"

"One, two, three, CHARLIE SUCKS!" The team cheered and jumped as they ran out of the change room, mounted their brooms and all zipped onto the court. Georgiana had earned a donation from the Harpies and gotten each of her players Nimbus 2004's, the fourth fastest broom in the world, one above the Firebolt.

As the teams took their positions, Georgiana shook hands with Charlie. His grip was hard and he seemed smug, until he took a look at Georgiana's team and saw his brother and sister among professional quidditch players. He gulped and turned around to face his team and take his position. Georgiana sped up to go to the highest point of the pyramid that her team formed. This was a specific play that Georgiana knew would work, since it worked for her in the past against Charlie. She made sure that everyone was in the right position before nodding at Madame Hooch, who had the whistle in her mouth. She blew the whistle hard before throwing the quaffle in the air. Georgiana grabbed and passed it to Ginny, who sped to the other end of the court and scored on Oliver Wood. She cheered and flew past Ginny, high fiving her as she past and went back to her position. She swooped in between Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet as Alicia threw it to her. Georgiana intercepted the ball and spun out from between the girls, where she sped down the field and scored on Wood again. He sighed exasperatedly and threw the ball to Katie Bell.

Georgiana looked around the court to see both Charlie and André diving for the snitch so early in the game. She watched as they dove to the ground. Right before they both hit, the snitch disappeared. Charlie slammed into the ground while André pulled away and managed to stay in the air. Georgiana started to go help Charlie but was met with a bludger that hit her forcefully in the shoulder. She gasped in pain as her broom spiralled down towards the ground. She clutched her shoulder and tried to control her broom at the same time but nothing was working. Eventually, fighting through her pain, Georgiana grasper both hands on her broom and jerked it upwards. She cried out in pain before catching the quaffle and speeding down the court. Wood knew she was going to try and score, so she called her favourite play. "PICKLES!"

The whole team surrounded her and the three chasers passed the quaffle around in a uniform motion. Eventually, they all came together in the middle and protected the quaffle. As they approached the middle net, each chaser pretended to throw into a different hoop, and as Oliver zipped between each one, Georgiana threw in the far left side, his least protected side.

She heard the crowd cheer and then begin to chant. "CHARLIE SUCKS! CHARLIE SUCKS! CHARLIE SUCKS!" She smiled to herself and remembered that Charlie was still on the ground. She looked over to where he was to see him waking up and getting back on his broom. His eyes glimmered as though he saw the snitch and he took off. André was on the other side of the court. She sped over to him.

"ANDRÉ GO GET THE SNITCH!" She shouted over the cheers and chants of the crowd.

"WHERE IS IT?" He asked.

"LOOK AT CHARLIE!" She commanded.

André looked over at Charlie and sped over. With his nimbus 2004 and Charlie's CleanSweep 8, André was caught up in no time. He dove down towards the snitch, his arm extended, neck in neck with Charlie. André sped up and nearly jumped off his broom. He fell to the ground, hand closed, with golden wings sticking out from the cracks between his fingers. Georgiana cheered as she put her bad arm in the air with such force that she fell off her broom, a good twenty feet down.

She hit the ground with a _crack!_ And her whole world went dark.


	7. Chapter 7

Georgiana's eyes fluttered open to see Charlie Weasley peering over her. He grinned wildly and jumped onto her, pulling her into a bone crushing hug. Georgina groaned and he let go quickly.

"Sorry, Gia! Hold on one second—" he ran out the door and whispered something to one of the passing medics in the hallway and she nodded and hurried off.

"What time is it?" Georgiana asked with a crackling voice.

"It's nine in the morning," Charlie replied.

"I slept all night? What about the shop?" She Asked.

"Don't worry, I've been taking care of it for the past week," Charlie assured.

"The past WEEK?!" Georgiana shot up in her bed. A rush of pain flowed to her shoulder immediately. She grasped it and fell back into her pillows with a small whimper.

"Georgiana, it's November tenth, you've been out for nearly two weeks. I didn't think you would wake up, There were whispers telling me to just give up on you," he sighed. She noticed Charlie's eyes starting to water and motioned for him to sit down on the bed next to her with her good arm. He did.

"Char, I would sleep all day if I could, but if it meant not being able to see you, I could never. I'd never give up on you, ever, and you should never have to give up on me. I'll always be there, even when you don't want me to be," she was cut off for a second by Charlie's sad chuckle and she continued.

"What I'm trying to say Charlie, is that you're too perfect and amazing and charming and handsome and loving to ever let you go, and whoever would is mad in the head!"

She and Charlie both laughed together and he pulled her into a soft embrace. She looked up to see a young doctor in the doorway holding a clipboard.

"You must be Georgiana Fortescue, I'm Doctor Harvey," he said.

"Hello, Doctor Harvey," she greeted as she pushed Charlie off of her and into his chair next to her bed.

"Well, Georgiana, it seems that your shoulder injury should heal over time, with a lot of physical therapy and by keeping your arm in a cast for six weeks. Your injuries were severe before the medics fixed most of the problems with some healing spells. For now you just have some internal bruising on your left arm and on your left hip. Your brain swelling has gone down a considerable amount since you've come in, and should be back to normal within the week. Do you have any questions for me?" He asked at the end of his super long explanation.

"Yes. Since I can't really move my left arm, how am I supposed to work?" She Asked. "And will I be able to play quidditch in the future? Because I'm supposed to be trying out for the Harpies this season!" At those words, Charlie grinned hard.

"Your shoulder bone was cracked from the impact of the bludger and the ground, but the healing spells have nearly brought it back together. After six weeks of wearing your cast, come back and I'll personally take it off for you. You'll have to make someone do all of the things you would do with both your hands, like carrying heavy items or anything of the sort. I wouldn't go back to work at your shop yet, as it can take too much effort, and we don't want you expelling too much energy."

"Thank you, Doctor," she said with a sigh. He nodded before adding:

"I'd like you to stay here another night so we can monitor you for a little while longer. Tomorrow you can check yourself out unless I deem otherwise." At Georgiana and Charlie's looks of worry, he quickly said "though I doubt anything will change from now until then. There is only a very small chance that any of your vitals will worsen." With this he awkwardly nodded at the two and quickly left the room.

Georgiana looked over at Charlie, who was still grinning. "What?" She Asked.

"You're trying out for the Harpies?!" He said with a large toothy smile.

"Only because I want to, not because of the bet!" She tried to lie. "And besides, Wilda Griffiths said that she would give me a position on the team depending how I played during the match. She said I was captain material!"

Charlie jumped up from his chair and bounced around the room. "Yes! Oh my goodness, Georgiana! That's amazing! Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?! I'm so proud of you!" He said before kneeling beside her bed and kissing her on the lips. The two snogged passionately for a few moments until Doctor Harvey and his team rushed into the room. They pulled apart quickly and their faces burnt red as the doctors and mediwitches started laughing.

"Georgiana, lets keep that heart rate down, alright?" Harvey chuckled.

Georgiana looked over at her heart rate monitor to see fast, frequent beats. Her face reddened even deeper and she smiled, embarrassed. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"It's alright, Georgiana, just relax for the next twenty four hours until you're out of the hospital. After that you can do whatever you please." He assured with a chuckle. "Is there anything else you need before I leave?"

"Can I have some food? I'm starving!" Georgiana exclaimed after her stomach growled loudly.

"Of course, I'll have a mediwitch bring up a tray. Rest well, Georgiana."

"Thank you."  
  


A the day after getting cleared from the hospital, Georgiana woke up in her flat above Florean's and looked at her nightstand next to her bed. She noticed the galleon that she had earned from Charlie from the day that she first reopened without her father. She touched it nimbly before she jumped out of bed, did what she could to prepare herself for the day, and waited for Charlie to show up to help her open the shop. He had volunteered to run the shop during the six weeks that she had to wear her cast and go to physical therapy with Doctor Harvey.

Georgiana's eyes sparked up. She had nearly forgotten!

She grabbed her wand with her right hand and with a flick, she had put up blue banners and moved the chocolate cake from the fridge onto the counter. Today, November Twelfth, was Charlie's birthday, and Georgiana remembered nearly everything that her friends from school told her about Charlie's birthday parties at school. She made a little drawing of a dragon appear on top of the cake, surrounded by unlit candles.

The door creaked open and Charlie popped his head inside. "Hello? Georgiana?"

"In here!" Georgiana called from the kitchen. "Come in, Charlie! I have a surprise for you."

Charlie rushed in and wrapped his arms around Georgiana's waist before pecking her cheek. She turned the best she could and kissed him shortly on the lips.

As soon as she removed her lips from his, he smiled at her. "What's the surprise?" He asked impatiently. She stepped to the side and motioned to the banners and cake. He smiled even bigger and admired the cake.

"Oh wow, Georgiana. Thank you! You did all this with your hurt shoulder? You shouldn't have! You need to relax!" He exclaimed.

"Charlie, I think that you forget that we have a little helpful friend called _magic,_ " Georgiana sighed.

"Oh yeah..." Charlie laughed and kissed Charlie on the cheek. "Are you ready to open the shop?" He asked.

"The real question is are _you?_ It may be cold and rainy right now, but irresponsible adults love ice cream right now, also kids under the age of eleven are wild beasts when it comes to ice cream." Georgiana stated.

Charlie laughed. "We'll see."

"If all goes well, I have another surprise for you later," Georgiana smirked.

"And what is that?" Charlie advanced.

"We'll see," Georgiana grinned.

Charlie had no idea what he was getting himself into.


	8. Chapter 8

Georgiana sat in her living room with Rowan, Penny and Grace during a cold stormy night in December. They all laughed as they caught up with one another after a month of not seeing each other. From the empty bottles of wine to the excessive amount of giggling, anyone who saw this scene would know immediately that the four girls were plastered.

"—And then, Felix just fell in the lake!" Grace laughed. Georgiana and the other girls giggled at Grace's story of her family's vacation to Canada that past summer. They apparently visited a lot of lakes.

Suddenly, Penny stopped laughing and turned completely serious. "Guys, I have something to tell you," she said.

The three other girls scooted closer to Penny with curiosity. "What is it?" They all Asked.

"You know Barnaby?" She Asked in a giggly whisper.

"Yes, we all know Barnaby," said Rowan.

"We..." Penny paused. "We slept together!" She laughed. The three girl's eyes widened with shock as they opened their mouths in disbelief.

"No way!" Shouted Georgiana.

"No! Oh my goodness!" Shouted Grace.

"Penny! Way to go!" Shouted Rowan laughed.

Penny looked at Rowan oddly and laughed. "Not quite the reaction I was expecting, but alright," she said lightheartedly.

"For real, Penny, way to go! He's a charmer!" Rowan laughed. "Now tell us everything! When? How? Why? Where? Was it good?"

Penny waved her hands in front of her to dismiss the questions that she was being bombarded with. Her cheeks slightly flushed, her eyes widened before she shushed everyone so she could tell the story.

"It was at André's twenty fifth birthday, a few months ago, and we got absolutely smashed, and went to his place after," she explained. "After I woke up and realized that I was late for work because I didn't have my alarm, I lashed out at him and started to cry. So I called in to work, I told them I wasn't feeling well, and then, well..." she paused.

"What?!" The girls all screamed. Their curiosity was making them so antsy and jumpy. They all had a look in their eyes, showing their hunger for Penny's gossip.

Penny's eyes fluttered and she started to flush again as she went silent. The girls were nearly ready to pounce on her before she finally started to continue the story. "We slept together again. Fully sober and with throbbing headaches, at nine in the morning, but it somehow made our hangovers go away." She sighed.

The girls all squealed in delight at Penny's recollection of her story. The news made them jittery and happy for their two friends.

"So wait," Georgiana said. The girls all stopped moving and stared at her. "Are you and Barnaby together now? Are you an _item?_ "

Penny stopped. She clearly wasn't expecting that question.

"No," she said. "We're more like... friends with benefits," she explained. "Like you and Charlie!"

The girls all turned their attention to Georgiana at that statement. "WHAT?!" They exclaimed, shocked at the discovery of Georgiana and Charlie's relationship.

"Me and Charlie aren't together, we're just friends!" Georgiana exclaimed. "And besides, I thought Penny already told you!"

"Nope, I wanted to keep it a surprise! And you two are friends who are clearly into each other and who snog and shag!" Exclaimed Penny over the shouts of their friends.

"We are not shagging!" Georgiana exclaimed.

"I saw you two that one time, remember? You were all wet! I have no clue what you two were doing but it looked kinky!"

The rest of the girls screamed with excitement as they got off the couches and jumped up and down.

"It was not _kinky_ and we are not shagging! Charlie was making me pancakes and then the fire alarm and sprinklers went off! It was terrible, and then we slipped and accidentally hit our lips off of each other!" Georgiana lied.

" _Sure,_ Georgie! We _totally_ believe you!" Grace giggled.

"Whatever, guys. But I'm telling you, I'm not shagging Charlie, no matter how much I wish I was," Georgiana explained, the girls responded with a squeal.

There was a knock on her door and Georgiana stood up quickly to go answer it but Grace motioned for her to sit.

"It's probably Felix coming to pick me up. Kids' bedtime is in half an hour, and they only listen to me," Grace explained.

"Tell Felix to tuck them in! We're having girls night!" Shouted Rowan, who had one glass too many of rosé.

"Yeah, G-Bear, Felix can tuck them in for once, you do _all_ the work at your house!" Exclaimed Penny.

"You know what, you girls are right. I should go tell him to sod off and tuck the kids in tonight! It's GIRLS night!" Grace ran to the door and opened it. The girls listened, but only heard whispers. Suddenly, Grace ran back inside.

"Georgiana, it's for you," she giggled. Georgiana walked towards the door slowly and suspiciously, before opening it to see Charlie, holding a bottle of wine and a bouquet of roses. Her heart melted into a pool at her feet.

"Do you have a minute?" He asked with a sheepish smile.

Georgiana blushed. "Of course, come in," She said. She lead him to the back room of her flat, making sure that none of the girls were spying on them.

"I brought these for you," Charlie said quickly, pushing the bouquet into Georgiana's arms.

"Thank you," she smiled. "They're lovely."

"I also brought you some red wine, I didn't know that you had company over, though. I would've asked that we drink it together, but perhaps you and your friends would like it right now," he suggested.

"Oh, Charlie, the only person I want to drink this with is you," Georgiana said. She heard groans from the other room and rolled her eyes. Her friends were always listening.

"Anyways, I'd better make this quick, I don't want to keep your company waiting," Charlie said. "I came here to tell you that... I like you, Gia. A lot. So much that my heart pounds when I merely hear your name or think about you, and if you don't feel the same way then it's alright, but if you do..."

"Charlie! I do! How could I not! You're charming and funny and loving and intelligent and everything that a girl could ever dream of! I'm absolutely shocked that you chose me, because you're absolutely perfect, but I like you a lot too!" Georgiana cooed.

"Georgiana Fortescue, you are the most amazing woman in the universe!" Charlie laughed out loud. "How could I _not_ choose you?!"

"So, um..." Georgiana was cut off by the girls in the other room shouting at them.

"Just _SNOG_ already!" She heard Rowan shout. Rowan really seemed to like being invested in other peoples romantic lives now.

The two laughed as they leaned in and their lips met. "So What does this make us?" Asked Charlie.

"I don't know.... a couple, I guess," suggested Georgiana.

Charlie grinned. Not just a regular grin though, his smile spread to his ears and his eyes squinted, his nose scrunched. It was a grin full of euphoria, and looking at his face contorted from such pure emotion made Georgiana's heart full.

Georgiana kissed Charlie on the lips before he basically ran out the door of her flat. "Don't splinch yourself, now. I don't want you to get hurt," warned Georgiana.

"Yeah, cause they you two wouldn't be able to shag!" Shouted Penny. Charlie and Georgiana both flushed and Georgiana turned to give Penny and the giggling girls a death glare. When she looked out the door again, Charlie disapparated, after giving her a final silent grin.

Georgiana rushed back to the living room filled with her friends, who were all squealing in delight.

"That was _so_ romantic!" Shouted Penny.

"It would be even more romantic if you lot would've stopped shouting at us to start shagging from the other room!" Georgiana teased. She laughed at their taken back reactions. "I'm only joking, I love you all, but you need to sometimes not be so loud."

"No can do, Georgie, if there's one thing we're good at, it's being loud!" Exclaimed Rowan. "I only wish that Ben would do something romantic like that for me. I mean he's gotten over a lot of his fears, but for some reason he still doesn't like flowers, as if a wasp will come out and sting him on the nose if he sniffs it! It's absolutely ridiculous!"

"Tell me about it! Me and Felix haven't shagged since before Will was born! That was five years ago! He always claims to be tired, when I'm the one who's been home with the kids all day!" Grace sighed. "I mean I get that he takes care of dragons, but a woman's gotta get some action every once in a while, like at least snog me after the kids go to bed!" The girls all hugged her.

"Well me and Georgie don't have those problems, we have people to shag," said Penny.

"That's a negative on my part," Georgiana corrected. "I haven't shagged anyone since my trip to Italy three years ago."

"Oh my goodness, Georgiana. You are HOT and you were SINGLE! How did you NOT shag anybody for three years?!" Exclaimed Penny with obvious shock in her voice.

"I just haven't had the time, with redoing he shop, and practicing for the match, and the war..."

The girls all stayed silent and the mention of the war that took place not too long before. The memories still haunted them.

Snapping them all out of it, Rowan piped up. "Who wants ice cream!"

After two more hours catching up with the girls, Georgiana finally kicked them out. "I'm tired," she claimed, thought she wasn't ready for bed at all.

Pulling out a quill, ink and a piece of parchment, Georgiana started to write a letter to Charlie.

_My dearest Charlie,_   
_Do you like what I did there? I was trying to be romantic._   
_The girls are all gone. Come over? There's something that we need to do that's long overdue, if you understand what I am implying_

_Love always,_   
_Your girlfriend, Georgiana_

After sending the letter with her owl, Georgiana turned on the hot water in the shower and stepped in. Nearly five minutes later, she heard the door open and someone walk into the flat.

"Gia?" Asked the voice of Charlie.

"Come in!" She shouted from the shower.

The door creaked open, and Charlie walked in. Within seconds he pulled the curtain back and stepped into the shower, completely naked.


	9. Chapter 9

Georgiana woke up with her arms wrapped around a thick and muscular body, and her head buried in a warm chest. Pulling her arm out slowly from underneath Charlie's body, she rolled over to her other side to try and get out of bed as quietly as possible. However, as soon as she rolled over, so did Charlie, and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to him. She tried to lightly push his arms off of her but he groaned.

"Just stay like this a little while longer, Gia," he whispered.

Georgiana smiled and turned to face him again. "You know I have to get ready to open the shop soon," she whined. "But you're welcome to sleep longer if you want."

Charlie whined and turned away from her. She sighed and let out a loose laugh before crawling out of bed and towards her wardrobe. Pulling on her mauve uniform and a pair of colour stained jeans and grabbed her new dark blue apron that Charlie had bought her as a Christmas present.

"Besides, I can't miss my first day back since getting my cast off," she pointed out. "And don't forget about that party later. I left some money on the kitchen counter, an you pick up some snacks?" She Asked as she tied on her apron.

"Which party?" Charlie Asked.

"Don't you remember? André is hosting a New Years Eve party again this year, and it's at his new house. We're leaving at nine," she reminded him.

"House? More like mansion..." Charlie grunted.

"Have you seen his new place yet? I haven't been."

"You won't be surprised at all, Gia. His house is very _flamboyant,_ it looks like it was _made_ for André."

"Oh, well then we'll be in for a treat," Georgiana laughed. "I'll see you later, babes."

Georgiana went down to the shop and did a quick clean up before unlocking the doors and flipping the 'open' sign. Almost immediately, the bell rung on the door.

"Georgie! Georgie! You're back!" exclaimed Amelia and William as they ran into the store and came to hug Georgiana behind the counter.

"I am! I hope Charlie still gave you free ice cream while I was away," Georgiana said.

"Char-Char gave us extra ice cream! He's really nice!" Exclaimed Amelia.

"Yeah, is he your boyfriend?" Asked Will.

Georgiana laughed. "William Joseph Caleigh-Rosier! That was rude, don't ask people about their personal lives!" Exclaimed their mother, Grace Rosier.

"Gracie, don't worry about it," Georgiana laughed. Georgiana turned back to the kids. "Yes, actually, he is my boyfriend," she said with a smile. The two children began to squeal and jumped up and down as Georgiana scooped their favourite ice creams into their special bowls.

"Chocolate fudge marshmallow with sprinkles for Will, and butterbeer chocolate swirl with walnuts on top for Leah," Georgiana announced as she handed the children their bowls. They thanked her and ran towards a table near the window while Georgiana and Grace started talking.

"So are you going to André's tonight?" Asked Georgiana.

"Yeah, were lucky my mom volunteered to babysit tonight. We're going to stay at his tonight. He has seven guest bedrooms, you know, with a bathroom for each!" Grace exclaimed.

"Wow! I knew that André was living good, but I didn't know it was _THAT_ good! Good for him!"

"Oh, it's great! Wait 'til you see the place. First time me and Felix went over, it took us fifteen minutes just to get all the way up the staircase to the fifth floor!"

"Wow. That long for a staircase? Wait— five floors?!"

"Plus a basement— with an indoor pool!"

"Blimey! André is living the good life! So who's all going?" Georgiana asked.

"Oh, I dunno, us and the Hogwarts crew, I'm not sure about Ben though, him and Rowan have gotten into a fight," Grace said.

"What? What happened?" Georgiana asked.

Grace leaned in and started to whisper. "He refused to, you know, shag Rowan because she said that she thought it was ridiculous that he was afraid of roses," she explained. "It started a whole fight between them and Rowan is staying in Penny's flat."

"Where's Penny staying?" Georgiana asked.

"With Barnaby, they haven't made it official yet, but she's sleeping at his house every night, so I s'pose they will soon."

"Oh wow, a lot has happened, where have I been?!" Laughed Georgiana.

"Well, this all happened in the past two weeks!" Grace stated. "And during that time, I assume you've spent in bed with Charlie."

"We have not been in bed all this time!" Georgiana playfully hit Grace on the shoulder. "Besides, Charlie is spending a lot of nights at his parents house, he doesn't want them to suspect anything. He's only spent a few nights at my flat since we've gotten together."

"Oh— well that's no good for you, if I were you I'd be shagging him every night!" Grace laughed. Then she turned around and started talking in a regular tone again. "William, Amelia, are you two almost ready to go?" She asked her kids. "We have to go meet daddy and uncle Damian at The Leaky Cauldron for lunch."

"Uncle Damian! Yay! Let's go, mommy!" Shouted William. Grace laughed and turned to face Georgiana again.

"I'll see you at André's tonight, Georgie," she said.

"Later Gracie."

Georgiana spent the rest of her day serving ice cream to children who were back from Hogwarts for the Winter Break and scraping dried ice cream off the tables and counter tops. Eventually, her new apron was covered in sticky, multicoloured ice creams.

Sighing, Georgiana went to the front of the store and flipped the 'open' sign to 'closed,' but before she could manage to lock the door, someone ran into the store.

"Oh thank goodness I made it in time!" Exclaimed an older woman, maybe in her forties. "I need a gallon of your birthday cake flavoured ice cream," she said.

Georgiana sighed. This was her least favourite thing in the world. "I'm sorry, ma'am, but we're actually closed."

"No you're not, your door was unlocked when I came in!" She said angrily.

"No, ma'am. I had the keys in the lock when you entered, and the sign is flipped, so technically we are closed, and we were before you entered the store."

"You've got to be joking! I came all this way from Surrey to get that ice cream for my son's New Year's Eve party, and now you're telling me that I can't buy it because you're 'closed?!'" She made quotation marks with her fingers as she said the last of her sentence. "Let me speak to whoever's in charge!" She demanded.

Georgiana smiled bitterly. "That would be me," She said. "Hi, my name is Georgiana Fortescue, owner of Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour." Georgiana offered her hand to the woman.

The woman gave a shocked look before carefully taking the Georgiana's hand. "I'm sorry, Ms. Fortescue, if I had known—"

"If you had known that I was the owner, then you wouldn't have treated me badly?" Georgiana asked. "What is your name?"

"Veronica Demmans," the woman said timidly.

"Mrs. Demmans, when a customer comes into my shop, I expect them to treat my workers the same way that they would treat me, or treat the bloody minister of magic! So, the rule of 'the customer is always right' does not apply in my store, do you understand?"

Mrs. Demmans nodded slightly with a guilty look. "So, Mrs. Demmans, it is ten minutes after close, so I suggest you either leave right now and come back in the new year, or be escorted out by Aurors when I call my good friend Kingsley Shacklebolt, the minister of magic," Georgiana threatened with a glare at the woman. Veronica Demmans rushed out of the store without another word, and Georgiana closed the shop.

"Wow, you really know how to take charge," said a voice from the staircase.

Georgiana turned around and smiled at Charlie, who stood leaning against the door frame with a grin.

"It takes years of practice, Char. And besides, once I'm not here anymore, I'm going to need my customers to treat my workers the same as they would treat me."

Georgiana walked over to Charlie. "Are you ready to go?" He asked. He was wearing a button down shirt and a pair of black dress pants.

"Let me get changed," she said, running up to her flat. "I'll be right down."

Georgiana rushed into her bedroom and closed the door. Going into her closet, she grabbed her gold sequinned dress that André had designed for her. Throwing it on along with some gold eyeshadow, Georgiana apparated to Penny's house.

"Penny?" She called. Penny ran out of her bedroom, she was wearing a navy blue maxi dress with a plunging neckline. "Can you do my hair quickly? Charlie's at my flat, and doesn't know that I left," she asked.

"Sure. Sit down," Penny motioned to a wooden chair in the corner of the room. She worked her way through Georgiana's hair, tugging and pulling strands loose strands until it was in a perfectly shaped braid crown around her head. Georgiana smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. "Thank you, Penny!" She hugged her friend and apparated back to her room, where she sprayed her hair with hairspray and grabbed her small white purse. She left her flat and went downstairs to meet Charlie, where they apparated to André's house.

Upon their arrival, a man in a black tuxedo offered to take their coats and bags. Georgiana and Charlie gave each other a look of disbelief before handing them over. The man smiled at them and took their jackets and bags to a large closet nearby. Georgiana and Charlie continued through the glass double doors to see André and Felix, deep in conversation.

"I'm telling you, the canons are going to lose again!" André exclaimed. "Their lineup last year was terrible, and it's not like any other team wants to trade with them, given their losing streak of _twelve years!_ "

"Come on, André, I bet they'll make it to quarter finals this year at least."

"I seriously doubt it." Georgiana rolled her eyes as she and Charlie approached the two men.

"I'm with André on this one, Felix," she added.

"Georgie!" The two boys exclaimed, both leaning in to kiss her cheeks.

"Hello Felix. André, what a beautiful home," Georgiana said. "We brought snacks."

André looked surprised. "We?" He asked. Suddenly his eyes moved over to see Charlie holding Georgiana's hand. "Ah! So you two have _finally_ gotten together! It's about time!" Georgiana rolled her eyes with a grin.

"How long have you two been together?" Asked Felix.

"About three weeks," Charlie said with a smile.

"Ahh, congratulations, you two!" André said. "I'm sorry, but I have to go make rounds to welcome everybody, I'll see you two lovebirds later," he said with a wink as he made his way towards other guests who were more famous than Charlie and Georgiana.

After the two of them brought their snacks to the snack table, the couple danced for hours with their friends and many other famous guests, and André's models. When it was finally a few minutes to midnight, waiters went around topping the guest's champagne glasses.

"Five... four... three... two... one! Happy new year!" The crowd shouted. Georgiana turned to Charlie and kissed him on the lips. From the corner of her eye she could see Penny and Barnaby sneaking off to where André's guest bedrooms were. She laughed to herself and she and Charlie pulled apart.

"Happy new year, Gia."

"Happy new year, Char."


	10. Chapter 10

Georgiana watched as Charlie slept soundlessly in his bed next to her. He looked almost angelic as the morning sun hit his pale face and reflected off of his shining red hair. She resisted the urge to rest her hand on his soft, freckled cheek. A small smile tugged at Charlie's lips, he must've been dreaming about something nice, though Georgiana could only imagine of what the dream was about. Perhaps he was on a beach, soaking up the sun, or maybe he was running through a sunflower field.

Georgiana sometimes had dreams of her and Charlie laying in a field of four leaf clovers, as a double rainbows would shine above them in a clear, blue sky. Most of the time, however, Georgiana's dreams were plagued with the memories of the second wizarding war. Watching her friends and family get murdered woke her up in the middle of the night with sweats.

Actually, that was the reason why Georgiana was awake before Charlie. She had had a night terror, though, it could have been considered a morning terror, since she woke up from the bad dream at eight o'clock in the morning, forty-five minutes after the sun rose on the cold January morning.

Georgiana snuck out of the bed to climb over to the window and looked outside. The snow was falling heavily onto the ground and the brightness made Georgiana momentarily close her eyes to adjust to the light. Moving slowly away from the window, Georgiana covered herself with charlie's bathrobe and made her way to the kitchen, where she pulled eggs and vegetables out of the fridge. Omelettes were one of the few things that Georgiana could cook without magic. 

Georgiana hummed quietly to herself as she flipped the sides of the omelette over to make it into a cylindre. She put the lid on top of the pan and let it cook for a few minutes. As she was grabbing cups, forks and knives from the cabinet above her and placing them on the table, she heard the bedroom door slide open, and Charlie walked out in his robe.

"Good morning, Char," Georgiana smiled. "I made breakfast."

Charlie smiled in return. "Thank you, Gia. You are adorable," he said as he walked up to Georgiana and pinched her cheeks before kissing her forehead and sitting down at one of the set spots at the table.

Georgiana put half the omelette on Charlie's plate, along with some pre-cut fruits she had bought from the shop the day before.

"Why thank you, Madame," Charlie gushed as Georgiana poured him a cup of tea.

"You're welcome, Monsieur," she replied with a giggle. She sat down across from Charlie and they began to eat. Georgiana could tell right away that this was one of the best omelettes she had ever made. The in and outside of the egg were cooked to perfection, and the vegetables had the perfect amount of tenderness to them that when she took a bite, she nearly started drooling, and from the look on Charlie's face, she could tell he felt the same.

Georgiana giggled, "You like it?" She Asked with a grin.

Charlie's eyes rolled and his smile grew very large. "I _LOVE_ it! Where did you learn how to cook like this?" He asked.

"Well, Penny isn't only good at making potions, you know. She is an excellent cook, and when we lived together, she taught me everything I know. Which isn't much, by the way."

Charlie laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot how good Penny is at cooking," he replied.

"Wait, how do you know about Penny's cooking?"

"Bill brought me some of her lasagna after she had a... pasta party? I'm not really sure, to be honest," he replied.

"Oh! The annual pasta party! I forgot about that," Georgiana said. "I'm supposed to be hosting this year."

"When is it?" Charlie Asked.

"Every year we have it on February twenty fourth," she answered. "Everyone makes a different kind of pasta and we sample it all," Georgiana explained.

"That's cool, but don't you get tired of eating so much pasta?"

"What? Of course not! Well... we also have a lot of alcohol to get us through the night, but it's a lot of fun. Do you want to come?" Georgiana asked.

"Well, I assumed that I would already be here since we're spending almost every night together anyway," Charlie replied with a chuckle.

Just as Georgiana was about to laugh along, there was a knock on the door. Georgiana tied her messy hair back into a ponytail as she made her way to the front door. She opened it to see her friend Rowan Khanna in tears.

Georgiana wrapped her arms around Rowan and pulled her inside to the flat. She turned her head to Charlie and gave him a look, silently asking him to leave. He understood right away. Grabbing his and Georgiana's plates, he apparated away.

"Y-you weren't at y-y-your f-flat, s-so I th-thought you m-m-might be here!" Rowan exclaimed as tears flooded down her cheeks.

Georgiana sat Rowan down on the couch. "What's wrong, Rowan? Are you okay?" She Asked worriedly.

"It's— it's Ben! W-we broke u-up!" Rowan sobbed.

"Oh no! What happened?" Georgiana asked.

Rowan took a deep breath and tried to wipe her tears, but as soon as her face was dry, she let out a new stream took it's place. "I-I told Ben that I w-wanted to h-have s-s-se— but when I asked, he—he said that he didn't want to! And wh-When I asked why n-n-not, h-he said it was because h-he wasn't in th-the m-mood, but always u-uses t-that ex- _hic!_ -excuse! I don't th-think he loves me anym-more," Rowan explained. "I th-think he ch-cheate-" Rowan let out another sob.

"No! Rowan, Ben loves you, he would never—"

"He's changed, o-over the p-past few w-weeks," Rowan's stuttering slowed as she began to start breathing normally again. "H-he's more anxious than bef-fore, and he won't even d-drink tea with me."

"Look, I'll go talk to him for you, I'll see what's going on," Georgiana said. "And if he's cheating, I'll hex him, okay?"

Rowan let out an involuntary chuckle and wiped her tears. She smiled gratefully at Georgiana, who tied her hair up and grabbed her wand.

Georgiana whipped her wand and in a loud crack, she apparated to Ben's flat. She found it in shambles, the couch cushions were flung across the room, the coffee table had stacks of paper scattered in a pile on top of it, with a cup of what looked to be apple juice sitting too close to the ledge of the table. Georgiana looked around for any sign of Ben, but didn't see him. She then noticed a hole in one of the empty walls. There was a small amount of blood that laid on the broken pieces of drywall, which Georgiana assumed was from splitting a knuckle or breaking skin on impact.

There was a quiet sniffle from the bedroom, and Georgiana made her way in, but still didn't see anybody.

"Ben?" She Asked. "It's me, Georgie."

Ben crawled out from underneath the bed and sat down on top of it. Tears were streaming from his eyes, which were swollen, and his nose was red.

"What happened?" Georgiana asked.

"I— I broke up with Rowan" he said before letting out a high pitched whine, "And then she trashed my flat and disapparated."

Georgiana looked at Ben sympathetically. "Why did you break up with her?" She asked patiently.

"I— I—" Ben took heavy breaths and then turned to sit facing Georgiana. "I think I'm gay, or something like that," he said.

Georgiana smiled and took Ben in for a hug. "That's great news, Ben! And listen— you don't need to label yourself! You're going through a confusing time, so don't you worry about what _exactly_ your sexuality is, just take time to figure things out," Georgiana said.

"Thank you, Georgie." Ben and Georgiana smiled at each other.

"And don't worry about Rowan, she got really upset because she thought that you were cheating, of all things!" Georgiana explained.

Ben let go of Georgiana and sat straight up, a shocked look on his face. "What? No! I would never cheat! I think I found out I was like this because André was telling me about how great his ex boyfriend was on New Year's Eve when we were sloshed, and the entire time, I kept thinking about how I wanted a nice boyfriend like that, and then I was like 'I want a boyfriend,' and then I was like 'oh, maybe I like boys too.'" Ben explained.

Georgiana smiled. "I'm so proud of you, Ben. It takes a lot of courage to come out like that, but I think you need to explain whate's happening Rowan. She's heartbroken because she thinks you cheated on her."

"Okay. I know she's at your flat, that's where she always goes when she's upset with me, so can you send her over?" Ben Asked.

"Oh— actually we were at Charlie's, but of course I'll send her over," Georgiana replied. "Do you want help cleaning this up?"

"No, I'm sure Rowan will feel bad about it and will buy me ice cream later, so I'd better leave it."

Georgiana laughed. "Alright, good luck, Ben. I believe in you."

Georgiana pulled out her wand again before disapparating back to her own flat, where Rowan was curled into a ball on the couch. When she heard the crack of Georgiana reappearing in the room, she looked up.

"Did you hex him?" She Asked softly.

"No, there was no need to. You should go over there, but you're in no condition to apparate, I'll walk you over," Georgiana replied. She grabbed Rowan's hand to pull her off the couch, and looped her arm though Rowan's. The two girls started walking silently to Ben's flat, which was only three blocks away from Charlie's. Upon reaching his building, Georgiana pressed the buzzer, and Ben unlocked the door. Rowan opened it up and quickly shot a look back at Georgiana before entering, two which Georgiana gave back a big smile and two thumbs up. "Good luck," she said.

Rowan gave a timid smile and made her way up to Ben's flat.

Georgiana pulled out her wand and apparated to her flat, where she assumed Charlie was. She opened the door and Charlie smiled at her from the other side of the room.

"Hey, what was that all about?" Charlie Asked.

"Relationship issues," Georgiana sighed.

"I saved you some fruit," Charlie said. "But I ate all your omelette, sorry," he continued with a shrug.

"It's okay, I'm not hungry anymore anyways. And I've got to get to the shop, I'm interviewing some candidates for the new position. Do you want to come? Maybe you can work the shop while I'm in interviews," Georgiana suggested.

"Ah, sorry Gia, I can't, I've got to run Wheezes today. I'll come and visit you on my lunch break though," Charlie said sympathetically.

"It's alright, love. I'll see you at lunch," Georgiana replied as she gave Charlie a kiss on the cheek. After changing, Georgiana made her way towards the door, where Charlie now stood. Charlie grabbed her face gently and gave her a long, soft kiss on the lips.

"I'll see you later, babes," he replied with a grin.

Georgiana chuckled and rushed down the stairs to the shop. She wiped down the windows on the display cases and dusted the countertops with her wand. Georgiana walked up to the front door of the shop and flipped the open sign before unlocking the door. Then, she waited for her first interviewee.

As if on cue, a young woman, maybe in her mid twenties, walked into the shop in a blouse and trousers. She walked straight up to Georgiana and stuck out her hand. Georgiana took it and the woman shook it with a firm grip.

"Hello, I'm Mary Anderson, I'm applying for the job," she announced.

"Hello, Mary, I'm Georgiana, I'll be conducting your interview today, please sit down," Georgiana replied.

Mary sat down very stiffly. She had her back strained so it would be perfectly straight, and her hands were fidgeting slightly in her lap.

"Mary, I know that interviews can be very nerve racking, but you can relax. I'm looking for someone who is trustworthy, and can handle stress. They also have to be good with kids. So, we're going to talk for a little bit, and then in about fifteen minutes, a little boy and girl will run into the shop to get free ice cream samples. You're going to help me, alright?" Georgiana said, trying to reassure Mary.

Mary sighed quietly and the tenseness in her back released so she sat comfortably but still professionally.

"You went to Hogwarts, right? I think you were a few years below me," Georgiana stated.

"Uh, yes, I remember watching you play quidditch, blimey, you were excellent!" Replied Mary.

Georgiana smiled. "Thank you, Mary. Did you play quidditch too?"

"No, I spent most of my time in the potions room. I never got along with any of my housemates, so I spent all my time learning new potions, Professor Snape was my mentor," Mary replied.

Georgiana frowned. "Professor Snape? Was he a _good_ mentor?— sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but he was quite harsh on my friends and I, so didn't see his 'good side' that so many people are now claiming that he had."

"Oh— it's alright. Professor Snape was an excellent mentor. He taught me tricks that weren't in the book, and when I did something wrong, he never yelled at me, he just explained what I did wrong and how I could fix it. However, he was incredibly rude to a lot of the other students," Mary answered.

"Wow— why didn't you decide to go into Potions? You could work as a potionsmaster or as a healer at St. Mungo's— why did you apply for this job instead?"

"Well, I applied to the Ministry for Potions Making and Experimenting, but they rejected my application because I had no valid prior experience. I applied to this job because I am trying to save up money so I can travel to Canada, because I applied for a position in their Ministry of Magic for Potions Experimentation and got accepted." Mary explained.

"Wow, that's amazing, Mary. Congratulations. Oh— here comes Amelia and William!" Exclaimed Georgiana. She stood up and started moving towards behind the counter, gesturing for Mary to do the same. Mary stood up and scurried towards Georgiana, a look of worry covered her face.

"Don't worry, they're wonderful children, and you'll do great, just follow my lead," Georgiana said. Mary gulped and nodded silently.

The bell rang on the door as Amelia and William ran in, their cloaks covered in snowflakes.

"Georgie! Georgie!" They shouted as they ran towards the counter.

"Hello Amelia, Hello William, this is my friend Mary, shes going to be helping me with your order today," explained Georgiana. Mary waved to the children and let out a small 'hello.'

The children looked at Mary and smiled. "Hello Mary! What's your favourite flavour of ice cream? Mine is butterbeer chocolate swirl with walnuts on top, and William's is chocolate fudge marshmallow with sprinkles! Georgie let's us have whatever kind we want, but we choose the same every time!" Amelia shouted enthusiastically.

Mary paused for a second before replying. "My favourite ice cream flavour is candy floss or bubblegum," she replied happily.

"That's funny! Georgie hates bubblegum and candy floss ice cream because they're so messy that all of her white shirts and aprons are blue now," said Amelia.

"It's true," confirmed Georgiana. "My old apron and almost all of my white shirts have been stained different colours of blue and pink and purple, and my hands are sometimes blue for days. I had to buy all new aprons for the training."

William laughed before saying: "it was really funny when Georgie got blue dye on her forehead for a whole week!"

Georgiana and Amelia both laughed as Grace Caleigh-Rosier walked in and joined her children.

"Amelia, William, I simply do not understand why you would want ice cream in the middle of January," She pestered. "We could go get some hot cocoa or some nice tea down the alley," she said.

"But mama, we want Georgie's ice cream!" Exclaimed William.

"Alright, you two, hurry up, we still have to go see uncle André for your outfits for Amelia's birthday party."

"Mama, can Georgie and Mary come to my birthday party too?" Amelia Asked.

"Who is Mary?" Grace Asked.

"I'm interviewing her right now," Georgiana said. Mary lifted her right hand and wove it at Grace.

"Hello," Mary said. "I'm Mary Anderson."

"Oh! You're Joseph Anderson's little sister, right?" Grace Asked.

"Oh— um, yes."

"How is he? Well I presume?" Grace Asked.

"He- uh— he passed away," Mary said with a sniffle.

"Oh no! Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry, Mary. Joseph was a good friend of mine at Hogwarts. Best keeper Ravenclaw's ever seen!" Grace exclaimed.

"That's right, he was an excellent keeper, i only ever made one goal on him during the six years I played. He was a tough one to beat," Georgiana recalled as she scooped the ice cream for the kids.

Mary started to look uncomfortable, so Georgiana and Grace stopped reminiscing about Joseph and tried to make other conversation instead.

"So for her party, I was thinking of getting some of the kid friendly products from the Weasley's. Is Charlie in today?" Grace Asked.

"Yeah, I think it's him with Bill and Ginny," Georgiana replied.

"Oh, the dream team," Grace laughed. There was a joke between her, Georgiana and Charlie, since whenever Charlie was in the shop with Bill and Ginny, they seemed to have many more sales than when Percy and Ron were working.

"Charlie Weasley? The Gryffindor quidditch captain?" Asked Mary.

"Yes," Grace replied with a giggle.

"Oh, wow. I haven't seen him in ages. We used to date, after I graduated. We both lived in Romania for a while. I didn't know he was back in town," Mary continued.

"Oh," Georgiana sighed. She hadn't known that Mary and Charlie had dated in the past, and the thought made her stomach clench. She hid her look of distaste.

Mary looked puzzled at Georgiana's response and Grace stepped in.

"Charlie and Georgiana are dating now," Grace said.

"Oh! Congratulations! And don't worry, I've been over him for a long time. We're just friends now," Mary explained. "And we broke up during the war, we were going through a rough time with all the death eaters searching for—"

Georgiana cut off Mary with her hand. "It's fine, Mary. Honestly, we've only been together for a few months, and we're not very serious yet."

"Pfft! Yeah right Georgie, you two have spent every moment together since November, and you have special nicknames for each other! He's the one who convinced you to get your dream job!" Grace exclaimed.

"He did not _convince_ me! I lost a bet to him, that's all."

It seemed as though the arguing girls had forgotten about Mary, and she left to go sit with Amelia and William. They seemed very pleased with this, as she started to make silly faces at the kids, who giggled in response. At an attempt to make the kids laugh some more, Mary's nose turned into the snout of a pig. The children stared in horror and William screamed.

This caught Georgiana and Grace's attention; and Mary burst into tears as her nose turned back to normal, and her eyes turned blue instead of brown.

Georgiana and Grace rushed over to the two children and Mary and Georgiana pulled Mary aside behind the counter, where the girl continued to sob.

"I-I'm so s-s-Sorry!" She exclaimed as she covered her face in shame.

"It's fine, Mary; are you okay?" Georgiana Asked.

"Y-yes—"

Georgiana cut her off with long, pressure-filled hug. She had learned somewhere that it helped when someone was sad.

"It's going to be alright, Mary, the children were just startled. Why don't you go home, I'll take care of the shop until the next interviewee comes along," Georgiana suggested.

"No, no, it's alright, I'm alri—"

"Mary, I'm insisting, go home. I'll tell you more about your job later on, Alright?"

"I got the job?" Mary Asked surprised, her tears stopped.

"Yes, well, no. Not _this_ job particularly. I want you to work with my good friend Penny Haywood, she makes the potions for my ice cream. This way you'll have more professional experience in the field of Potions."

"Oh! Thank you! Thank you very much! Penny seemed so nice, I was friends with her sister Beatrice!"

"I'm glad you feel that way, because you are going to have an excellent time with Penny. Now you should get going, get some rest. I'll send Penny an owl, and she'll contact you with your schedule."

"Alright, Thank you so much," Mary said.

"You're welcome, Mary, goodbye, I'll see you soon."

"Goodbye!"

After Mary left, only three of the four interviewees came to the shop for their interview. One was an older woman name Elizabeth, who claimed she had nothing to do after retiring. She seemed very kind and was excellent with the kids when more came in to the shop. Another was a younger man who's name was Julian, he was cast out from his pureblood family for his beliefs that muggles and wizards should be able to marry, and the last interviewee was a young woman named Hannah Abbott, who's husband was a professor at Hogwarts, and she didn't want to spend all her time at home, alone.

At the end of her ten hour shift, Georgiana decided that all four interviewees who arrived should get the job, as they all seemed like trustworthy people.

Georgiana climbed up the stairs behind the shop to her flat, where Charlie sat at the kitchen table with two containers of take out from the Leaky Cauldron. She slowly walked up to him, wiped the sweat from her brow, and then wrapped her arms around his chest and held him lightly.

"How was work, Gia?" He asked softly.

Georgiana let go of Charlie and they sat down at the table. "Long but good," she replied. "I have three new people who I'm going to train to run the front, and I have a new girl to help Penny with the potions. She's never complained, but I know she has a large workload, so I want to ease her stress. She has another job too, you know."

"That's nice of you, Gia. I bet Penny will appreciate it," Charlie replied as he slid over Georgiana's container of food along with a fork.

"So how was your day?" Georgiana asked as she shovelled her dinner into her mouth.

"It was alright. My sisters is excited to meet you, she wants to set up breakfast with you sometime," Charlie said.

"Oh really?" Georgiana asked bemused.

"Mmhm," Charlie replied as he swallowed his food.

"Well, I'm free Wednesday morning, maybe I should send her an owl," Georgiana suggested.

"I bet she'll love that. She's not got very many girl friends," Charlie replied.

"What about that girl Hermione Granger? And I see her sometimes walking around the Alley with Luna Lovegood?"

"Yes, but she's more used to hanging around all of her brothers. You know, me, Bill, Ron, Percy, George, and.... well... I guess that's all of us now," Charlie said glumly. "I er— I think I'm going to head home, Gia."

"Are you sure, Charlie? Are you alright?" Georgiana asked, concerned at his sudden change of mood.

"Yeah, I'm just... missing Fred," he confessed. Charlie's eyes became glassy and he looked away from Georgiana as he stood up. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Charlie, let me walk you home, you're in no condition to apparate."

"No, no, it's alright, I'll walk alone. I'm not too far from here."

"Alright, Charlie," Georgiana sighed.

"Goodnight, Georgiana."

After Georgiana finished her dinner, she sent an owl to Ginny, inviting her to breakfast the next morning at a café in Diagon alley. She threw away her take-out container and slowly made her way to her bedroom, where she took off her work clothes and got into her comfortable cotton pyjamas. Georgiana fell into bed, but instead of falling asleep, she lay awake, staring at the dark ceiling, worrying about Charlie.


	11. Chapter 11

Georgiana Fortescue sat across from her red haired friend in a café on the corner of Diagon alley; heaps of snow had fallen the night prior, was supposedly continuing throughout the next two days.

"So are you going to explain to me why I found out from _André_ that you're dating Charlie now?" Tulip Karasu asked, tapping her fingers against the table impatiently.

"Tulip, I'm sorry we haven't seen each other lately, but you've been so caught up in... God knows what! Where have you been?!" Georgiana exclaimed.

"No, no, no, you don't get to turn this around on me!" Tulip retorted with a chuckle. "You haven't even sent me an owl!"

"I tried! Lester couldn't find you!" Georgiana explained.

"Who the hell is Lester?"

"The owl I bought Charlie for Christmas."

"And you named him _Lester_?" Tulip laughed. "What kind of name is that?!"

"I didn't name the bloody owl! He had that name when I bought him, and _by the way,_ Lester is a very intelligent owl," Georgiana pointed out.

"I never said he was stupid _,_ I simply said his name was."

"Okay, okay, but seriously, where have you been?" Georgiana asked.

"Oh, you know, here and there, everywhere," Tulip trailed off. "Mother wanted me to become a housewife, stay at home, have way too many children, so I decided to do the opposite: travel around the world, all alone, with nothing but my wand and the clothes on my back."

"Are you serious?!" Georgiana asked.

"Bloody hell! No girl, I was visiting my Aunt and cousins in France!" Tulip laughed.

"Oh," Georgiana replied, a bit embarrassed by how gullible she was at the moment.

"So I heard that you lost a bet with Charlie, are you trying out for the Harpies, then?"

"Yeah, me and Ginny are trying out together. We've got a breakfast date tomorrow morning to discuss tryouts and whatnot," Georgiana replied.

"That's good," Tulip nodded. "I met a quidditch player in France who said that the Harpies are looking for a new captain."

"Wow. Wilda's retiring?"

"Yeah, and she has final say on who replaces her, so we all know Countberry's out of the running, they've been at each other's throats since the day they met."

Georgiana laughed. "That's one thing I'm not looking forwards to if I make the team. Sydney Countberry sounds like a terrible person, and if Wilda doesn't like her, I highly doubt that I will."

Tulip laughed as a passer-byer scowled at Georgiana. He was clearly a Countberry fan. "So what do you have planned for your birthday?" Tulip asked, changing the subject. "The big twenty six! Are you doing anything with Charlie?"

"Well, Charlie hasn't mentioned anything, but he has been acting oddly suspicious, so I assume that he has something planned, but I won't pester him about it. Charlie is absolutely terrible at keeping secrets, so if I ask, I know that he will, one hundred percent, tell me," Georgiana laughed quietly. "But other than that, I don't have anything planned."

"Well, it's good to know that your boyfriend actually cares about these things," Tulip said. "Unlike Derrick," she added with a scowl.

"Oh wow, I completely forgot about Derrick. He was an absolute arse, I can't believe that I spent six MONTHS of my life on him. What a waste!" Georgiana said, agitated. She put her face in her hands as she pitied her past self for dating such a narcissistic pig.

"You know what? I heard that he got sacked from his modelling agency because their top female model got pregnant, and she told them that he was the one who did it to her. They were so pissed that they fired them both!" Tulip exclaimed.

"Serves him right," Georgiana muttered. "That poor woman though, I hate anything to do with Derrick, I can't even shop at Blibbering's Clothing because he's in all their advertisements, I can't imagine how terrified she is to give birth to the spawn of evil!"

Tulip burst into laughter. "That's a good one! Derrick Fredrickson is really all things bad in the world," she choked out as she grabbed her coat off of the back of her chair.

"So what is the mysterious Tulip Karasu up to today?" Georgiana teased as they left the shop.

"Oh, just this and that. I'm thinking of visiting Bill at the joke shop, he told me that he was working today, and maybe I'll finally get to meet Mrs. Bill Weasley," Tulip laughed.

"Fleur? She's great! She's absolutely charming, and smart, and gorgeous. Model worthy," Georgiana stated.

"When did you meet her?" Tulip Asked.

"About a week ago. Charlie and I were looking for some new books at Flourish and Blotts, and she came in with Ginny, they were getting a muggle studies book for Arthur's birthday."

"Interesting," Tulip said with a sigh, looking at her wristwatch.

"What's up?" Georgiana asked, sensing something was wrong through Tulip's tone.

"It's half past noon, and I'm supposed to meet my mother for lunch," she sighed again. Had they really been sitting there for three and a half hours?

"Oh, wow. Good luck," Georgiana offered, smiling nervously.

"Thanks," Tulip grunted, her shoulders hunching as she pulled out her wand.

"And don't forget about the pasta party, yeah? only a fortnight away," Georgiana reminded.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Tulip grinned, and with the flick of her wand, she disapparated, leaving Georgiana alone.  
  
  


The next morning, Georgiana woke up early and alone. Charlie had spent the night at his parents' house again, whom she was formally meeting for the first time at lunch, after meeting with his sister, Ginny, for breakfast, to discuss tryouts for the Holyhead Harpies. Shaking slightly, Georgiana took a shower, and then blow-dried her hair and put on a long-sleeved blouse and trousers, trying to look appropriate but cute to cordially meet the family of her boyfriend for the first time.

Noticing that it was nearly time for her to go meet with Ginny, Georgiana pulled on her black trench coat and her soft winter boots, and apparated around the corner from the restaurant they were meeting at. When she walked in to Empire Cafe, Georgiana spotted Ginny straight away. She looked exactly like Charlie, her fiery red hair and splattered freckles were the most noticeable traits, but once she got closer, Georgiana noticed that Ginny's nose and facial structure were nearly identical to Charlie's, the only difference between the two siblings, besides the obvious difference of sexes, was their eyes. Where Charlie had blue eyes, Ginny's were a bright brown, which complemented her light freckles in the early winter morning.

"Ginny?" Georgiana asked as she approached, sitting down across from Ginny, at their table in the far corner of the cafe.

"Georgiana! Charlie's been talking about you constantly, I feel like I could pick you out of a crowd without a problem," Ginny laughed. "That and the fact that you were the one who lead me to my first victory against my brothers in quidditch. I've already ordered us some food, I hope you don't mind, I'm starved! How are you?"

"That's fine, and I'm great! Well, nervous, but great! How're you?" Georgiana rushed.

"I'm brilliant," Ginny sighed. "I'm just excited for the tryouts! Do you know when they are?"

"I'm still waiting on an owl from Wilda, I haven't heard from her since Halloween,"

Ginny smiled. "I can't believe you're friends with Wilda Griffiths! I would do anything just to be close to her, I can still hardly believe that I'm acquainted to her! She's legendary! Best captain the Harpy's have ever had, in my opinion!"

"I completely agree! I've known Wilda for as long as I can remember, she's a family friend, and she's always been so kind. She's always been sort of a motherly figure to me, always came around the house to help my father after my mum died, and offered to endorse the shop after she got famous," Georgiana explained.

"Wilda really everything you want her to be. You know, 'what you see is what you get,' or whatever those muggles say," Ginny said in awe as a waiter came to their table and placed piles of pancakes in front of them. Georgiana's mouth watered as Ginny poured syrup onto her food and started shoveling it into her mouth. Georgiana could now hardly tell the difference between Ginny and Charlie.

"She really is," Georgiana smiled. "So what position do you play?" She asked, changing the subject.

"I dunno. I love playing chaser, but I'm good as Seeker too, and after what happened to Randi Summers last season, I don't think she'll ever be able to play again. That was what, her seventh concussion in the past two seasons?"

"Well, which position do you love the most, Chaser or Seeker?"

"Well-- Don't tell Harry, but Chaser is way better than Seeker."

"Then you should definitely try out for Chaser. I'm sure the Harpies will find a replacement Seeker for Randi"

"Really? All my brothers keep telling me to go for Seeker, that I'll for sure be ahead of the running, but I know that there are two Chaser spots opening this season as well, with Wilda and Josie leaving the team."

"Don't worry right now whether you'll make it or not, we don't even know when tryouts are! And besides, if Charlie's words are true, then I have no doubt that you'll make Chaser."

"Thanks Georgiana," Ginny smiled, putting her fork down onto her empty plate. It was then that Georgiana realized that she had not yet touched the pile of pancakes on her plate. She looked down at them slowly before grabbing her fork and poking at them. Her nerves had finally subdued, getting rid of the butterflies in her stomach, so she willed herself to take a bite. Her mouth exploded with the flavour of blueberries and Georgiana closed her eyes as she savoured every second. How did Ginny know that blueberry pancakes were her favourite? She opened her eyes after swallowing her mouthful, and saw Ginny snickering behind her hand.

"I thought Charlie was joshing me when he said you loved blueberry pancakes more than anything else in the entire world," Ginny grinned.

"That's true, but Char is a close second," Georgiana laughed along, a faint blush had crept to her cheeks in embarrassment. Georgiana swallowed her mouthful and looked back up a Ginny. "So, any advice for meeting the rest of the Weasleys?" She Asked, her nerves seeping back into the pit of her stomach.

"Just be yourself, Georgiana. If Charlie loves you, then I'm sure my parents will too. And don't worry about my brothers, they're all specky gits anyways. You're already like the big sister I never had," Ginny reassured.

Georgiana felt tears gloss over her eyes and a concentrated blush rise to her face. "Thank you, Ginny. I wish I had a sister, especially one like you."

Ginny returned the smile and eyeballed Georgiana's nearly untouched plate. "Are you going to eat that?"

Georgiana laughed. "No, too nervous," she replied, pushing the plate across the table and trading it for Ginny's empty plate, which she placed on her own placemat. Ginny shovelled the rest of Georgiana's pancakes into her mouth in mere minutes as Georgiana watched in awe. The only other person she had seen eat that fast was Charlie, and he was constantly hungry.

"Why are you so nervous, anyways?" Ginny Asked in between mouthfuls, "it's not like my family's scary. Worse thing that could happen is that mum won't like you, but she can't complain, she reintroduced you and Char. Besides, you're exactly the kind of girl she wants all of her sons to marry."

Georgiana gulped, and Ginny seemed to have noticed how nervous she became again. "Don't worry, Georgiana, my mums not that insensible. Obviously it's up to you whenever you and Charlie get married, besides, you've been dating what, two months?"

"More like three, but yeah, not enough for the talk of marriage," Georgiana chuckled nervously.

Ginny and Georgiana paid for the meals that Ginny had eaten, and grabbed their coats off of the backs of their chairs. After putting them on, the trudged their way out into the freezing January morning. After moving into a secluded alley way, the two girls apparated to the Burrow.

Georgiana took in the sight before her. It was a quaint little home, though skinnier than a regular house, it made up for it in height. The Burrow looked as though it had undergone many additions throughout the years, and the top of the house looked almost crooked.

Georgiana could hear the sounds of chickens clucking from somewhere in the distance, and saw a little sheltered coop behind the house, no doubt with a warming charm around it, as there was no snow, and the chickens hopped around happily. She followed Ginny inside, where she was immediately crushed in Charlie's arms.

"I'm so glad you came," he murmured in her ear.

"When have I ever been one to not show up?" Georgiana chuckled.

Charlie scoffed. "Don't you remember, in our sixth year, I asked you to a Hogsmede weekend, and you said you'd meet me at the Three Broomsticks, but you never showed," he explained.

Georgiana laughed. "You were being serious? I thought that was a joke, a rouse to try and confuse me before the match between Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. If we lost that match to Ravenclaw, we'd be out of the running for quidditch cup!"

Charlie laughed. "You're smart, because that's exactly what it was," he grinned as he let go of Georgiana. "But I did fancy you, too. I was using my infatuation with you to also lure you to the three broomsticks to try and confuse you into liking me, therefore messing with your head when you were playing against Ravenclaw the next day. But it didn't work, obviously, considering you never showed up. Also, it was Albert's idea, so it wasn't too well thought out."

Georgiana laughed. "Wow, and I thought you were a nice bloke," she said.

"Charlie Weasley, what did you do this time?! Don't screw up the best thing that ever happened to you!" Exclaimed the voice of Mrs. Weasley from the doorframe.

"Mum! Meet Georgiana, here Georgiana I'll take your coat, love," Charlie said, pulling the coat off of Georgiana's back as she took her shoes off.

"Hello, it's so nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley. Your home is lovely, I always wanted to grow up in a place like this," Georgiana complimented.

"Oh! Thank you, dear, it's lovely to meet you as well. And please, call me Molly."

"Oh— okay, Molly," Georgina smiled as Mrs. Weasley took her arm and brought her on a tour of the house. 

Charlie chuckled as he made his way to the kitchen, where he knew Georgiana and his mum would end up last, with the food being served at noon. In the kitchen was a sight he never thought he would see, at least, not for a while. His little brother, George, was sitting, out in the open, and laughing.

Charlie smiled. "Hey George, hey Bill," he said as he sat down at the table with them. "What's going on?"

George spoke between his fits of laughter. "Bill just— told the funniest— joke, had a — laugh, didn't we— Fred...?"

The room went silent and George stopped laughing when he mentioned his twin. Tears rushed to Charlie's eyes, and though he could barely make it out, he knew that George and Bill were on the verge of tears as well.

"Guys, we have to stop this. Fred wouldn't want us tearing up every time we heard his name, or thought about him or anything, unless we were crying of laughter. Today's supposed to be a happy day, even Percy's coming over, the git wants to meet my girlfriend," Charlie said as he wiped his eyes. He was breathing slightly heavier now, but still remained calm.

"Yeah, you're right," replied George. "Char, Im sorry I ruined the mood, I wanted to meet your new girlfriend in high spirits, but I've ruined everything."

"No you haven't, George. We all got sad, cause none of us are over Fred, but don't worry, we can still lift our spirits. How about a game of quidditch?"

"Count me in, I'll go get Ronnikins and Harry, Bill, go see if Percy wants to play, and Charlie, for the love of god go rescue your girlfriend from our mother, and get Ginny. We need a fair game, and the only way to do that is having a good chaser on each team."

"Aye, aye, capitan!" Charlie grinned. It was good to have his brother back.


	12. Chapter 12

Georgiana cheered as she tossed the quaffle through the singular goalpost that hid in the depths of the valley near the burrow. The keeper, Charlie's little brother whose name, she remembered, was Ronald, groaned. It was the fifth time that Georgiana had scored on him, and she was sure that he was becoming restless to save one. Charlie thumped Georgiana on the back as she flew by, before taking off. He must've seen the golden snitch.

Georgiana focused on the match before her. As Ginny raced for the hoops, Georgiana rushed in front of her, blocking her from moving forwards. Any further. When Ginny tried to throw the quaffle into the post, Georgiana intercepted it, and soared towards the goalpost and shot. Ron, for the first time that match, blocked her shot. He whooped in the air, nearly falling off his broom. He grabbed on at the last second and steadied himself before going back into his defensive position.

Ginny grabbed the quaffle again, and took advantage of Ron's sudden impairment. She shot and scored. The teams were tied.

Georgiana heard Charlie shout from the ground: he had caught the snitch. Grinning, Georgiana flew as fast as she could towards him, jumping off her broom and tackling him to the ground at the last second. With a laugh, she kissed him on the lips before standing up, and helping him to his feet. The rest of the Weasley siblings (and Harry) surrounded them now; their team was cheering.

"Well done, Char!" Georgiana cheered before turning to face Ginny. She stuck out her hand. "Good match, Ginny. You played excellently."

"Thanks Georgiana, you too." The two girls laughed as the group of them ventured back to the Burrow, their broomsticks over their shoulders.

"I'm really nervous about the Harpies tryouts," Ginny admitted. "I'm scared that I won't make it."

"Don't worry, Gin! Remember what Wilda said? If you played good at that match she would make you a reserve player for sure, and you were brilliant at the match! No doubt you're going to make it!" Georgiana ensured.

"I'm just nervous because I've only ever played at Hogwarts and at home and I've never had much real competition, only poor sport brothers," Ginny whined.

Georgiana laughed. "That is true, your brother, er— Ronald? He's a very poor sport," Georgiana said after lowering her voice. Ginny laughed and nodded in agreement.

At the eight of them reached the Burrow again, Molly had prepared lunch. Piles sandwiches were placed on large plates for each of them to grab, and a nice warm bowl of squash soup was placed at ever table setting. Georgiana's mouth watered; she was starving after expensing all of her energy during the quidditch match.

As the entire Weasley family sat down for lunch, an owl unceremoniously crashed into the window. Georgiana flew from her seat in a start, falling to the floor, as Bill helped the owl get in to the house before untying the letter from his leg. The owl flew off and Bill looked down at the envelope in his hands before passing it to Ginny. 

Ginny smiled and tore the letter open. After reading it, she let out a shriek, whether it be of terror or excitement, one did not know. That was, of course, until she started jumping up and down, screaming "I made it! I made it!"

Everyone watched Ginny for a few minutes before she finally stopped jumping around the room. "What did you make? What was that letter, dear?" Molly asked.

"The Holyhead Harpies! That was Wilda Griffiths! She said that she wants to make me a reserve player immediately, and she wants me to try out to be a starter! She said that it's not guaranteed, but she believes that I have a lot of skill and talent, and that there's a good chance that I could be a starter next season!" Ginny talked in a hurried tone, spurring through her words the way a tornado spurred through a town. When she was finished, the family jumped up and surrounded her, entrapping her in a large group hug. Georgiana laughed and when they broke apart, she made her way over to Ginny.

"You see? I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Thank you, Georgiana! Without you, I never would have made the team! I hope you become captain when Wilda leaves!"

"Thank you, Ginny, you're too kind. I doubt that I'll be captain, I haven't played on a professional team before, I don't know how things run. But hopefully we play together in the upcoming season! I'm so excited for you!" 

The family continued their meal in a spur of excitement, with Ginny being a new player on the Holyhead Harpies, the brothers were all excited to get free tickets in the top box, allowing them to see their favourite teams up close. When lunch was over, Georgiana and the Weasley's sat still at the dining room table for a nice, quiet conversation which mostly pertained to Georgiana and Charlie's small rivalry in their Hogwarts years, how Charlie's brothers were all scared of Georgiana, given the time that she broke his nose with a quaffle. Georgiana and Charlie laughed this off, they were used to this sort of chatter from their friends.

Finally, Molly asked the dreadful question: "So, Charlie, honey. When are you moving back to Romania?"

Georgiana tensed at Charlie's side. His muscles stiffened and his face dropped. "I haven't decided," Charlie replied. "I haven't even thought of going back yet," he admitted.

"Well, haven't they asked you to return? It's been two years since you've been in Romania, surely they don't want their star dragonologist filling out paperwork in a different country."

"No, they haven't contacted me. They've got Marlee, Paulina, and Fabian to take care of the dragons, and they hired a lot of interns last summer that are now helping out. Are you all finished with your plates? I'll bring them to the kitchen," Charlie said, stopping his mother from asking any other questions. "Gia, will you help me?"

Georgiana stood up and started collecting the plates of Charlie's siblings and parents and followed him into the small kitchen. They both put the plates down in the sink before Charlie grabbed Georigana's hands in his own.

"I don't want you to worry," he said quietly. "I noticed the way you started to pull away from me when my mother asked about Romania. I'm not going anywhere."

"D'you promise?" Georgiana asked, her face buried into his chest.

Charlie cupped her face and pulled it to face his. "I promise."


	13. Chapter 13

With the slowness that came with February, Georgiana had lots of time on her hands, and absolutely nothing to do. With snowstorms and freezing rain coming down almost constantly in the dreary weather of London, and the regular customers of Florean's back at school, the shop was constantly quiet. Georgiana, however, wasn't complaining. Actually, she had taken this free time to plan for the twenty-fourth of February: the annual pasta party. In the week of silence, Georgiana had, with the help of magic, created a unique Agnolotti-shaped design for the invitations, and decided that this year's event would be a black-tie event. They were going to eat their pasta with class.

Georgiana's party planning was interrupted by Charlie, who had been staying in his flat more frequently. The ring of the wind chimes brought Georgiana to her senses. She grinned and came to the other side of the counter to greet her boyfriend with a quick kiss.

"Hello, love," Charlie smiled. "I thought that I would take you out to lunch, as a pre-birthday treat."

"But Char, my birthday isn't until tomorrow," Georgiana laughed.

"That's why I said 'pre.' Besides, I really just wanted to see you. Work has been giving me lots of papers to look over, and we haven't seen much of each other recently. And we missed Valentine's day, so I would like to make it up to you."

Georgiana grinned: "Well in that case, let me lock up the shop and then we can leave." Georgiana out her planning away in her back office, then, with a flick of her wand, locked the front door and flipped the 'open' sign to 'closed.' She looped her arm through Charlie's, and the two left through the back door.

"So, I was thinking at first that we should go to the Leaky, but Bill told me about this new restaurant at the other end of the alley."

"I didn't know that there was a new place down here, though I'm not surprised: all the old shops are finally being moved into. I'm glad that the alley isn't as dreadful and quiet anymore."

"Well, it could never be dreadful with you here," Charlie grinned.

"Right, ice cream makes people quite cheerful."

"No, no: you, Georgiana Fortescue, are the light of Diagon Alley. I see people with sorrowsome expressions enter your shop, and when they leave they are happier than a pig in mud."

Georgiana laughed at his antics, "Pigs in mud are quite cheerful," she admitted.

"That they are, and it's all because of you," Charlie said, poking the tip of her nose with his index finger.

Georgiana took this opportunity to lick his finger. He pulled it away with a chuckle and an 'Ewww!' then wiped it on her shirt. He then pulled her into a restaurant that she had never seen before. It was quite elegant, with white table cloths and flowers on every table, which were spaced quite a ways away from each other. Georgiana smiled as a waiter took their cloaks and they were seated in a quiet booth next to the floor-to-ceiling window. The couple were brought water and menus, and were left to ponder over what they would eat for lunch.

"Wow, Charlie, this place is amazing," Georgiana said, noticing a small fountain that ran in the middle of the room. There were strands of ivy flowing from the water and wrapping around a small lamppost behind it, whose fire illuminated the room with a subtle and faint glow, overpowered by the light of noon shining through the window.

Besides Georgiana and Charlie, and the staff, the restaurant was otherwise empty, and a soothing orchestral piece was playing throughout the shop.

Georgiana and Charlie read through their menus: everything looked great. At the very bottom of the last page, in tiny black script, read:  
"Can't decide what to eat? Don't worry, choose the Chef's Choice, and we'll make the decision for you! Please tell your waiter if you have any food restrictions or allergies."

When their waiter returned, both Georgiana and Charlie chose the Chef's Choice; everything looked delicious. While they waited, the couple stared out the window of the restaurant, watching pedestrians pass by and they wondered aloud what they thought the people were doing.

"Look, that lady just got a new owl from Eeylop's!" Charlie pointed out. "I wonder what she'll name it."

"Well, when Stéphan came to the shop, he told me that the most popular owl name this year is Sylvester, which is odd, isn't it?"

Charlie laughed, "I've never heard of anyone calling their owl 'Sylvester.' Lester would be jealous of such a posh name."

"That's true, Lester deserves a name that represents his personality. I've never seen a more put-together owl than Lester."

"That's because we raised him," Charlie laughed.

"I don't believe that for a second. If we raised that owl, he would be reckless. Lester was raised at Eeylops," Georgiana laughed.

When they settled that Lester was too proper to be raised by them, the waiter served them their food. For Georgiana, a plate of lemon pesto linguine with fresh rolls, for Charlie, a freshly baked chicken pot pie, with a side of cornbread. Georgiana's nose filled with the scent of garlic and basil and fresh bread and pastry, and her mouth started to water.

"This has to be one of the best meals I've ever had," Georgiana said through a mouthful of pasta.

"Mmmm... So good," Charlie agreed, his mouth full of chicken pot pie.

The two didn't talk much during their lunch, besides when they complimented the food. They were in awe of how delicious their meal was, and decided, on a whim, to order a piece of pistachio millefeuille to share for a dessert. This was also delicious —of course— and left both of their mouths watering, though their stomachs were full. After Charlie refused to split the cheque, and Georgiana trying to slip her money to the waiter, only to be caught by Charlie, the couple left and returned to Florean's. At the door, Charlie took Georgiana's hand in his.

"Georgiana, I have some news," he said.

Georgiana looked up. "What is it?" She asked. "Did something happen?"

"Actually, yes. Wilda sent you an owl with Lester, but he accidentally brought it to me," he said. "I guess co-owning an owl is more difficult than we thought," he added with a chuckle.

"What did it say?" Georgiana asked eagerly. She was hopeful, this was her chance to finally do what she loved.

Charlie paused, before a grin took over his entire face. "Congratulations," he said, opening the door.

Inside the shop were all of Georgiana's friends. Penny, Tulip, Rowan, Ben, André, Felix and Grace and the kids, Wilda, Bill, and Ginny. A banner hung over the display that read

_Congratulations Gia! Holyhead Harpies' Team Co-Captain!_

Georgiana's face lit up. "Co-Captain?" She asked Wilda.

"Haven't you heard? I'm retiring! Congratulations, Georgiana, you deserve this."


	14. Chapter 14

Georgiana ducked as a bludger went whizzing past her head. It seemed as though Sydney Countberry, her teammate on the Holyhead Harpies, wasn't a fan of her. Georgiana knew that Countberry wouldn't be pleased when it was announced that Georgiana and Elizabeth Gates were the new captains of the team, especially since Georgiana hadn't even played professionally before, but she didn't expect Countberry to target her at every practice, whether she had the quaffle or not.

"Don't worry about Countberry," said Elizabeth one day after practice. "She's just jealous that you're more talented and that Wilda likes you more than her. She's going to have to get over her pettiness if she wants to play starter this year."

"It's fine. I don't have time for her anyways, I'm not worried about it at all," Georgiana said. "I've got to go, Ginny are you coming?" Georgiana asked as Ginny walked into the changeroom.

"Yeah, give me a second, Gia. I've just got to get my uniform off."

Tonight was the night: February twenty fourth: the annual Pasta Party. Georgiana, after consulting with Elizabeth, had ended practice early so she and Ginny could go and set up, and Charlie was meeting them at the shop. They were going all out this year: gold banners and streamers, black tablecloths, magic confetti that disappeared before it touched anyone; this would be the pasta party to top all pasta parties.

As soon as Ginny was ready, the two girls said goodbye to the rest of the team and apparated to Diagon Alley. They rushed into Florean's, where Hannah and Julian, her new shopkeepers, were finishing closing up.

"Guys, I know I haven't been here to train you, but thank you so much, from what I hear, you're both doing an excellent job. You can go home, I'll fill up the ice cream and mop the floors," Georgiana told them.

The two nodded and thanked her before leaving taking off their aprons and leaving the store. Charlie came out from the back and hugged Georgiana and Ginny in greeting.

"I'm really sweaty, Char," Georgiana laughed as she pushed him off. "I'll be back in a minute. I need to take a shower and then we can get started on decorating."

"No problem."

"D'you mind if we eat some ice cream while we wait?" Ginny Asked. "I'm starved."

"Go for it," Georgiana shouted back as she ran up the stairs to her flat.

As soon as she was done her shower, Georgiana rushed back downstairs, where, to her surprise, Charlie and Ginny had already finished decorating, and they had even enchanted the confetti so it would disappear halfway to the floor.

Georgiana smiled, "It's perfect!" She exclaimed. "Thank you so much, but you could have waited for me."

"It's not a problem, Gia. You've been so busy with the team and with the shop, I didn't want you to feel overwhelmed," Charlie replied.

"You take such good care of me. What did I do to deserve you?" Georgiana asked as she wrapped Charlie in a hug.

"Ahem," Ginny said jokingly from the other side of the room. "I am also here."

Georgiana and Charlie both laughed as they faced the younger woman. "Thank you. Both of you." Georgiana said. "You've both been such a big help over the past couple of weeks, I don't know how I would get through any of this without you."

When it was finally time for the party, Georgiana and Ginny both went up to the flat to change into their outfits. They had both gone shopping in muggle London for fancy dresses for the party, and it was there that they found out that they had the same taste in style. Both Georgiana and Ginny had come out of the dressing rooms with the exact same dress on, except in different colours. The tightly fitted cocktail dress looked stunning on both of them, Ginny's flaming red hair went perfectly with the forest green of her version, and Georgiana's blue dress complemented her pale complexion and her bright eyes.

When Georgiana and Ginny came downstairs, Charlie, who had disapparated to his flat when they went upstairs, was already back and was looking spiffy in a black tuxedo.

"Wow," he said, eyeing Georgiana's outfit. "You look amazing."

Georgiana's face lit up and she kissed Charlie on the cheek. "Thank you, love. You look very smart, yourself."

Charlie grinned as wide as a proud four year old. "Why thank you," he said. "What do we do now?"

"We wait," Georgiana said. "The others should arrive any minute now."

As if on cue, the bell rang on the front door of the shop, and Penny entered in a brilliant gold gown and a large casserole dish filled with her mouthwatering lasagna. Penny rushed towards Georgiana, and trapped her in a hug with her free arm. "You look great!" She squealed.

"Thanks, Penny! You look amazing, this dress makes your hair look as gold as galleons!"

Penny grinned before hugging Charlie amicably and moving to Ginny. "I don't believe we've met, I'm Penny Harwood."

"I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley." Ginny took Penny's free hand and shook it lightly before asking if she wanted to put her pasta down and grab some of her homemade fruit punch. The two girls ventured off towards the food table as other guests entered the shop. Georgiana and Charlie remained by the door and greeted their friends, first Barnaby entered, then Bill, Rowan, André, Ben, and then eventually, Grace and Felix. Each of their friends brought a different kind of pasta, and eventually the table was full. Penne, lemon pesto pasta, lasagna, ravioli, macaroni and cheese, and many more mouthwatering dishes.

Georgiana stood in front of all of her guests and held up her champagne flute. "I would like to make a toast," she started. "First, to Charlie. Thank you for sticking around with me for these past three and a half months. I don't know what I would've done without you. And next, to all of you. You lot are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I'm so glad we continue to do this every year, because even if we don't see each other any other time of the year, we always have something to look forward to. To true friendship!"

Georgiana's friends held up their glasses. "To true friendship!" They chorused. Georgiana laughed as she hugged them all, and they began to eat.   
  
  
  


"Wow, I'm stuffed," Georgiana groaned and she and Charlie made their way up to her flat, carrying at least a half dozen of stacked casserole dishes, each filled at least a quarter way with left over pasta.

"Tell me about it, I don't think I could eat another bite if I tried."

It was nearly two in the morning. The pasta party had ended a mere twenty minutes before, and the two of them had already finished cleaning up (thanks to the help of magic) and were nearly ready for bed. However, they still had to put away the pasta, and Georgiana wasn't sure she had enough room in her fridge.

"Are you a witch or not?" Charlie laughed as he used a shrinking charm on his pile of casserole dishes.

Georgiana scowled at Charlie. "You have a flat of your own, you know," she joked.

Charlie let out a gulp before placing his pile in the fridge. Georgiana copied him before closing the fridge and going to her bedroom and changing into her pyjamas.

Charlie followed Georgiana into her room and took out his spare pair of pyjamas from her dresser. The two collapsed into Georgiana's bed, exhausted, and fell into a soundless sleep.


	15. Chapter 15

Georgiana and Charlie waited in the Leaky Cauldron for Penny and Barnaby to show up. Their friends had finally made their relationship official the previous week, and wanted to start their relationship off with a double date with two of their best friends.

"Do you think they'll last?" Charlie Asked. When Georgiana gave him a look of shock, he fumbled with his words. "I mean— I'm not asking in a bad way! I think it would be great if we did this every week, I just want to know what you think."

Georgiana smiled. "Yeah, Barnaby makes Penny really happy, I'm sure it goes the same for him as well. They're meant for each other."

"Kind of like you and me," Charlie said as he wrapped his hands around Georgiana's with a smile.

Georgiana blushed and looked up at her devilishly handsome boyfriend. "Yeah, just like you and me."

The door to the Leaky Cauldron opened, and Penny and Barnaby entered. They found the other half of their double date sitting at the booth in the corner of the pub and rushed over, peeling off their cloaks and hats as they did so.

"Georgie! Charlie! So great to see you!" Penny grinned.

Barnaby held out his hand for Charlie to shake. "Good to see you again, Char. How're the dragons doing?"

"Oh, er— I wouldn't know. I've been working from home as of late."

"Ah, I see."

"Yeah. How is your work? You're a—"

"I'm a magizoologist."

"They're giving him an award next month, He's rescued the most creatures in the past two years than anyone has in their entire career," Penny chimed in with a proud grin.

"Wow!" Georgiana exclaimed. "That's wonderful! How many did you save?"

"Two thousand, three hundred and forty nine."

"Merlin! How did you manage that?" Charlie asked.

"Well, most of the creatures I saved were in groups, some in groups of five, some in groups of twenty. It's rare that you find this many in one go, but I guess the animals like me."

"Damn right they like you, we'll have a toast, at least, when our waiter comes back," Georgiana laughed. "I'm proud of you, Barnaby. You deserve it."

Barnaby flushed. "Th-thanks."

Georgiana sent Penny and Barnaby a warm smile. "I'm glad you two finally became an official couple. You seem so happy together."

Penny grinned. "We are too. It was lonely, not telling anyone. I'm just glad we can do things like this now."

The waiter came back to their table with four fire-whiskeys, and the dinner menus. The four sat in silence as they read their menus. When the waiter came back a few minutes later, they ordered.

"I'll have a tomato soup with crisps, please," Georgiana told the waiter. She had been craving one of the Leaky's soups for days now.

"I'll have the steak and kidney pie, please," Charlie said.

"I'll have the same," added Penny.

"And I'll have the shepherd's pie, please," Barnaby added last.

It didn't take long for their food to get there, but while they waited, the group played a quick game of hangman on a napkin with a pen that Georgiana had found in her pocket.

At the moment, the hangman had a head, a body, and one arm, and only five of the thirteen letters were guessed.

Eventually, the hangman was complete, and Georgiana revealed the phrase. 'Leaky Cauldron.'

"Really? That was so hard for how simple it was! I wish I would've thought of that." Penny exclaimed.

Georgiana laughed. "Well, sometimes you need to think inside the box, Penny."

Their waiter returned with their food, and they dug in, Georgiana's eyes rolling back into her head as she moaned in delight. The tomato soup was one of the most mouthwatering dishes Georgiana had ever tasted. "Wow," she said. "I would die for this soup. It's delicious. And these crisps— come on, try one." Georgiana pushed her plate into the middle of the table, and each of the three grabbed a crisp and tried it. They nodded their heads in agreement.

"Spectacular—" Charlie said as he reached for another. "The perfect amount of salt— they're crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, and you can see the skins. The perfect crisp."

Georgiana pulled the plate back towards her and smiled at Charlie as he reached for third time. "If you wanted fries, you should have ordered some for yourself," Georgiana said.

Charlie stuck his tongue out at her as he grabbed two more fries from her plate and then shoved them into his mouth. "You're the one who said I could try some," he said with a mouthful of crisps.

Georgiana rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Penny and Barnaby.

"So any plans for the weekend?" She asked.

"Well, I have a rather large batch of potions brewing for St. Mungo's, So Mary and I are going to deliver them."

"Oh, yeah, how is Mary doing, by the way?"

"Oh, she's excellent. I couldn't ask for a better partner. She's very skilled, and very kind."

"That's wonderful! I'm glad that she's a good fit," Georgiana smiled as she dipped a crisp into her soup.

"So Barnaby and I were wondering if you two would join us for a weekend at my parents' cottage. It's very quaint and homey, and it's on a beach not too far away," Penny said.

Georgiana grinned and glanced at Charlie, who looked thrilled at the thought. "That sounds wonderful! When were you planning on going?"

"Well, we were actually going to ask you when you were available, Georgie. We know you're very busy with quidditch practices and such, so we figured we'd go off of your schedule. The only time that we're unavailable is on the third of March and the seventeenth. Other than then, we're available anytime."

"Well, that's perfect luck, since those are the only two weekends I'm unavailable as well. What about you, Charlie? What's your schedule like?"

"Well, I can't do the weekend of the tenth, that's my weekend to work the shop."

"Alright, so we'll do the weekend of the twenty fourth? Does that sound alright to everyone?" Penny asked.

"Perfect!"

"Awesome, I can't wait to show you the cottage. You'll love it, I'm positive."

"I can't wait."

  
The third of March marked the first quidditch match of the season, and twelve hours prior to the start time of the match, Georgiana had started shaking. It was only seven in the morning, but Georgiana had planned earlier in the week to work the morning shift to settle her nerves through the familiarity of scooping ice cream. However, the lack of customers at seven a.m. was not helping her anxiety in the slightest.

"Alright, Georgiana. You're fine. The match isn't until tonight, you don't need to be nervous for another eleven hours," she assured herself as she looked at her reflection in the back of her ice cream scooper. She looked more tired than a sloth. "You don't have anything to worry about, anyways. You're a great chaser and a great co-captain, and if anything goes wrong, you can count on Elizabeth to make things right. She's amazing, and can easily get the team to focus and work together, and she's commanding, not to mention beautiful and amazing at quidditch and— never mind that, Georgie! Focus! You've got this! Ginny and Fanny are great chasers and Countberry and Melton are skilled beaters, and Julia is an amazing seeker,and Elizabeth is an absolutely amazing keeper. You've got the best team in the league. You will win, and even if you don't, you'll know that you played your hardest."

"Very inspirational," said a voice from the other side of the counter. Georgiana dropped the ice cream scooper with a yelp and looked into the eyes of Fiona Masons, the captain of Appleby Arrows, the team that the Harpies were set to play that night. "Say, Georgie, What was it that Wilda said when she announced that you were taking her place? You were a force to be reckoned with? Well, bring on the reckoning, dear. I'm sure it won't be large enough to wreck the Arrows, but I'm sure you'll tie the Canons this year— for last place, that is."

"Did you want any ice cream, Masons, or did you just come here to cause trouble?"

"Oh no, love. I'm lactose intolerant."

"Well, it looks like ice cream isn't the only thing that makes you shit. Turns out it's just your entire personality."

"I can assure you, darling, that wasn't as cool as you thought it was. Anyways, ta-ta! I'm off to get my knee pads polished. They'll need to look pretty if I'm going to bust up your face with them. You may want to get yours polished too, Fortescue. I wouldn't mind having you on your knees after the match, begging, that is."

Georgiana scoffed. "You wish, Masons."

"Oh, every night, Georgie. Every damned night." Fiona left the shop with a grin and a wink, and leaving Georgiana with the sudden feeling that she needed to take a shower. 

A few minutes passed and Charlie came in to the shop, dropping off a coffee from their favourite café before he headed to the joke-shop. "I saw Fiona Masons leaving a few minutes ago, what was that about?" He asked as he came behind the counter and kissed Georgiana on the cheek.

"Just some pre-match trash-talk, trying to get into my head, that's all," Georgiana assured. "It's nothing I can't handle. Besides, she was a terrible trash-talker. She just said that we would tie the canons for last place, which isn't true. The Harpies are better than ever, thanks to our new training routine. And we're going to kick the Arrows' asses tonight."

Charlie grinned. "That's my girl," he said, taking Georgiana's hand in his own.

"You'll be there, right? I saved you the top box, it's got enough room for you and your family, as well as our friends."

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, mum would probably kill me if I missed Ginny's first game as a professional player. She'd probably guilt-trip me to death."

"We wouldn't want that— whoever would come to Penny's cottage with me?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'd find someone, being so amazing and beautiful."

Georgiana blushed. "I wouldn't want to go with anyone but you," Georgiana said. "Nobody is quite like you, Charlie Weasley. You're one of a kind."

A red flush creeped up Charlie's neck as his cheeks grew warm. Charlie leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Georgiana's lips; she could feel his smile grow as she closed her eyes and gave in to him. After a few seconds, they pulled away and Georgiana raised her hand and placed her fingers over the lingering tingle that remained on her lips.

"I've got to go, I love you," Charlie said as he walked towards the door. Seeming having just realized what he said, Charlie stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Georgiana, who was frozen in shock.

"I... I love you too, Charlie," she said, her face breaking into a grin. Charlie flushed an even brighter red, and smiled sheepishly at his girlfriend before turning around and quickly exiting the shop, leaving Georgiana feeling as though she was floating on air. 

  
The floating feeling didn't leave Georgiana for the remainder of the day, and has washed away all of her previous nervousness about her upcoming match. Twenty minutes prior to the game, Georgiana, Elizabeth, and the rest of the team were in the changing room of their stadium. The Appleby Arrows has arrived ten minutes earlier, signalling the end of their pre-match scrimmage. Fiona has thrown a wink in Georgiana's direction as the Arrows entered the guest changing rooms, and Georgiana rolled her eyes as she entered their own change room.

"Alright, team," Elizabeth said. "We are as strong as ever, we can take the Arrows no problem. Don't let them get into your head. The Arrows are known for their manipulation. If you let them in your head, they'll get an advantage over us. Don't second guess, don't falter or hesitate, trust your instincts. We've got this."

The team cheered and turned to Georgiana in expectancy, waiting for her speech. "Trust Liz to take all the good things to say," Georgiana laughed. "No, I'm just kidding. You guys are the most spectacular team I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. You're strong-willed, and courageous, and brutally skilled. I would say good luck, but we don't need it. We're the mother fucking Holyhead Harpies!"

The team let out a roar and they stood up, throwing their fists in the air, letting out a single, collective 'whoop!' Before grabbing their brooms and exiting the changing room in a single file, making their way to the stadium for the opening match of the season.

The Harpies and the Arrows ascended their brooms and met mid-stadium, the captains shaking hands on the ground while the rest of the players hovered above them. "I hope your boyfriends alright, Fortescue. I heard he's paralyzed from all of that sucking you do. Or was it his sister that you suck?"

"Don't bring Charlie into this, Masons. Keep the trash talking to quidditch," Georgiana spat as she held a firm grip on Fiona Masons' hand.

"Quit whining, Fortescue, or I'll give you something to whine about— nope sorry, that one was a little too much, even for me. Anyways, good luck; you'll need it because we're going to crush you like a grape."

Georgiana scoffed and rolled her eyes, turning towards her team and ascending on her broom to take her position between Ginny and Fanny. "You ready?" Ginny asked, her face frowned in concentration.

"Yeah." Georgiana turned to the team. "Pickles!" she shouted, her teammates nodded in her direction, understanding what she was trying to say. The referee blew the whistle and released the Quaffle, tossing it high into the air. Georgiana let Ginny scoop it up and raced towards her position, closer to the opposing rings, where she would hopefully be able to score once Ginny and Fanny managed to secure the Quaffle and rush it to Georgiana. Once she got the Quaffle, it was smooth sailing. 

Ginny, as suspected, was able to break through the Arrows' defence easily, leaving her only obstacle to dodge the Bludgers aimed at her by the Arrows' beaters, Florence May and Timothy Jameson. Ginny dodged and spun to avoid the Bludgers, and with the Arrows' chasers right on her tail, threw the Quaffle to Georgiana, and dove to avoid the collision that was inevitable, with the Arrows' Chasers gaining speed behind her. Georigiana rushed towards the goalposts, faked a throw into the right hoop, then threw into the left hoop, successfully scoring ten points for the Harpies. 

Georgiana and the Harpies continued to dominate the Arrows for the rest of the game, leaving the Fiona and the Arrows breathless as they trailed behind them, trying to intercept the Quaffle, or hit them with a Bludger. Elizabeth had taken a hit from a Bludger halfway through the game, earning a penalty shot for the Harpies, since they had hit her when the Quaffle was not within the boundaries of the Keeper. An hour after the game started, the Harpies were up one hundred and seventy points to fifty, when the sea of dark green in the crowd erupted in cheers as Julia Harolds, the seeker for the Harpies, caught the golden snitch. The referee announced the win and the Harpies flew to the centre of the stadium, where they hugged as a group, cheering. The team broke apart to shake hands with the Arrows, who had just arrived in the centre of the stadium, scowling.

"Good game," Georgiana said as she shook hands with each player. When she reached Fiona Masons, at the end of the line, the other player's scowl deepened. "You played well," Georgiana said with a polite smile.

Fiona Masons scoffed. "Beginner's luck," she spat. "We'll crush you next time."

Georgiana laughed, "I'm looking forward to it." Once the team had finished shaking hands with the Arrows, they made their way back to their changing room, where they cheered in celebration.

"Good job girls! You all played excellently," Elizabeth said. 

"I've never seen a team more in sync than us out there," Georgiana added with a grin. "Well done ladies. Drinks are on me tonight!" The team let out another 'whoop!' and all changed into their regular clothes before smacking Georgiana on the back and leaving the changing room. Georgiana sighed happily, grabbing her bag and exiting the change room behind her team mates. When she emerged from the changing room, she spotted Charlie and the Weasley family, congratulating Ginny. She approached them and Molly broke her hug with her daughter and rushed towards Georgiana before she could even speak.

"Oh, my dear, well done! I knew you would win, you're so talented!"

Georgiana smiled as Charlie's mother embraced her. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," she said.

When Mrs. Weasley let go of her, Charlie approached her and wrapped her in another hug. It was soft and tender, and full of love and admiration. "Well done, love. I am in awe," he cooed. 

"We'll see you lot later: we have some celebrating to do," Ginny said. "No boyfriends allowed," She added pointedly when Charlie tried to follow them. Georgiana laughed and turned to face Charlie, who was pouting. 

"Don't worry, Char, I'll meet you after. I won't be out long, we've got practice tomorrow." This seemed to cheer him up, and his pout diminished until he was smiling softly. 

"Alright," he said, "I'll see you soon, I love you."

"I love you too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Georgiana is not het. That's all.


End file.
